Home Sweet Home
by Maximum Ride FOREVER FANGirl
Summary: Fang moves from California to Arizona where he meets Max. Fang hates his new home and is determined not to like it. But Max is making that kind of hard. Will there be Fax? Duhhh... My First Fan Fic, please R&R! Under major reconstruction! Note: I'm editing right now, so a couple of the chapters suck. Really bad.
1. Chapter 1

**Updated 3/17/14**

I stared moodily out the car window. I was practically radiating with angst. How could my mother do this? I hardly ever complain about anything, so I guess right now I was in full on stereotypical teenager mode.

The scenery outside was nothing special, just barren and boring land. It looked so dry here, like they were experiencing a chronic drought. Just the sight of the dirt pissed me off. How would I play soccer on such crappy grass?

I looked up and glared at the back of my mother's head. She must have some sort of sixth sense because she said, "Fang, can you please stop glaring at me? I swear if looks could kill, I'd be dead."

Instead of responding, I just kept on staring at her, my gaze probably holding accusation.

"Fang, honey, I know this is hard for you but-"

Before I could stop myself, I exploded. "Mom, just stop, okay? I don't want to hear your excuses. Moving out just wasn't enough for you. We had to move to a whole different state."

My mother didn't reply. She drove on, not saying a word.

"Way to go, idiot." My brother Iggy muttered. On the outside, people could say Iggy and I completely contrast one another. Iggy has strawberry blond hair that's on the shorter side, compared to mine. My hair is black and long, covering my left eye. Iggy's eyes are blue and you can always tell what he's thinking just by looking at his eyes, while mine are black with tiny specks of gold in them and more reserved.

We're both pretty tall and occasionally share the same twisted sense of humor, which is cool.

But right now, Iggy was not being cool. "Shut up, Igiot."

Ah, Igiot. Igiot is my special insult for Iggy, since just calling him a plain idiot would not do him justice and idiots everywhere would be offended if they knew I was comparing them to Iggy.

Before Iggy could retaliate, my little sister Angel asked, "Mommy? How much more time?"

Her blue eyes looked droopy and her curly blonde hair was in a mess, probably from running her hands through it.

"We're almost there, sweetheart. Just about twenty more minutes." My mom replied.

Iggy, who was sitting in the front, decided to turn the radio on and make my life miserable. He knows I absolutely detest all forms of rap, and goes out of his way to find a station that will cause me to throw myself out of the car.

Immediately, a song about money and sex blared out through the speakers.

"Iggy! That is _not_ appropriate for Angel!" I said, winking at Angel. She giggled and closed her eyes, trying to sleep.

"Iggy Mercer! Change that station _now_." My mother bellowed. I smirked, satisfied at Iggy's chastisement, no matter how small.

"Mommy, can we listen to my Justin Bieber CD?" Angel asked, her little squeaky voice making it impossible for anyone to say no to her.

"Yes, sweetheart." My mom said, switching on Angel's CD.

Lord, please spare me. I tried to tune out the song by thinking of my now ex-girlfriend, Vanessa. Unfortunately, Vanessa was not enough to overpower Bieber's cries about falling overboard and drowning. Drown, Bieber, Drown! **(A/N: lol, people seemed to like that line so I'm keeping it :D)**

Apparently, Angel had been singing along the whole time because my mother said, "So you can sing along to that whole song, but you can't count up to 100?"

Angel ignored our mother's incredulous tone and said, "Yes, mommy."

As we drove on in the hot Arizona night, I wondered what our new house would be like.

I've got to say, the house was pretty nice. I would not be admitting it to my mother anytime soon, though.

Our large contemporary home consisted of six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a huge kitchen, living room, office, and a spare room that I would persuade my mother to let me use as a 'Fang Cave.' **(A/N: fav or review if you would like a Fang Cave!)**

As I checked out the house, I walked into the room I had claimed as my own. I liked it. Plus, my stuff was already in here, I just had to bring up a few things. It was painted dark blue, and had a balcony facing to the backyard.

I opened my balcony doors and stared outside. If I slightly turned my head, I could see into our neighbor's yard, which kind of made me feel like a stalker.

There were three girls standing in the middle of the yard. It looked as though two of them were ganging up on the taller one.

"Max, pleeeeeeeeease let me put some make up on you. Just a little! I just wanna try something." One of the girls yelled.

"Ella Martinez, I am _not_ your guinea pig." Max, I'm assuming, shouted back.

"ZOMG! Guinea pigs are sooooooo cute! I'm going to ask mom if I can get one! I saw one at the pet store the other day and it looked so lonely! It was just saying 'Nudge, please adopt me!' And I felt super bad because I really wanted to adopt it but I didn't want to do it without mom's permission, because I am a good daughter! Not that you all aren't good daughters. All three of us are amazing daughters! Which means, Max, that we must look amazing. Therefore, you must let Ella and I doll you up!"

Well, damn.

Before I could listen to anymore of this ridiculous conversation, I shut the balcony doors and sank down on the bed, which was lacking sheets.

I don't want to be here. I want to be back at home in California, with my girlfriend and my friends. And oh yeah, normal neighbors.

I laid in bed for about an hour before deciding to go downstairs and bring my things up to my room. All of our furniture and major belongings were already here, so I just had to get a few bags.

Just as I was going back upstairs, my mom called me. **(A/N: I hate it when my mom does that!)**

"Yes, mother?" I sighed, walking over to the kitchen, where her voice had come from. I looked up, startled to find a woman standing in there with my mother.

"Fang, this is Mrs. Martinez! She's our neighbor and invited us over for dinner tomorrow."

I extended my hand, shaking Mrs. Martinez's and muttering out, "Nice to meet you."

"Hello, Fang. How are you liking Arizona so far?" She asked me with a kind smile.

I couldn't think of anything positive to say, so I just responded by shrugging.

Mrs. Martinez laughed and said, "Not so talkative, I see. You are the total opposite of my kids. They never stop talking! But I think you'd get along."

My mother laughed and thanked her again for the invitation. I excused myself and barricaded myself in my room.

No matter how nice these people were, I still wanted to go back home.

**A/N: So some people wanted me to edit the chapters so edit the chapters I did. I'm afraid the chapter is far from its original cringe-worthy state, so you might have to reread. I tried to keep the general idea the same, though. **

**PLEASE tell me what you think in a review and if I should keep on editing. Reviews make me smile :D **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So… What happened? I got only 3 reviews! Thanks to everyone who subscribed!**

**Night Wolf_ Thanks for the last names! I think I'll go with Mercer!**

**hAppYpuPPy52 Yeah, I know it was kind of confusing, wasn't it? Well, I separated the paragraphs in this chapter so no fear!**

**Bieber Fever Hey when you said Diamond I immediately imagined Fang with grills (You know, those things that rappers put on their teeth?) And when you said Lerman, I was like Percy Jackson! Logan Lerman! 3!**

**So could all the people who subscribed review? Please?**

**Disclaimer: I bet James Patterson doesn't listen to Jesse McCartney while he types…**

MPOV 

After escaping from that near death experience with the make up, I decided to go for a run. Whenever I was running, I felt like I was flying.

You're probably wondering who I am. Hi. I'm Max Ride. My full name is Maximum but if you call me that I'll beat you up without breaking a sweat.

That may seem kind of cocky, but the truth is I really can hurt someone if they get on my bad side. Of course, I would never use my powers for evil; only for self-defense and protecting the weak.

When I was younger, about 10 or so, someone actually got the nerve to pick on Ella. Ella is my younger sister and unlike myself, she is quiet, sensative and doesn't like getting on people's bad sides.

I still remember it clearly. The girl picking on Ella was named Lissa, and at the age of 10 she was already wearing a miniskirt. Anyway, Ella was crying and there's nothing more I hate than watching people I love in pain. I had gone up to Lissa and pushed her, saying, "What's your problem?"

She had stumbled back and said, "Your sister is stupid, that's what my problem is!"

"Shut up or you'll regret it!" I had threatened. But no one takes threats seriously when you're 10. She probably thought I was going to tell my mom or something.

Lissa had laughed, not realizing what I was going to do. Before she could react, I stepped forward and punched her right in the face.

"Don't mess with my family."

Anyway, after that my mom thought Lissa or her parents would sic someone on me and I'd get beat up so she put me in kickboxing classes, which by the way, is an amazing way to let out anger.

Plus, I run a lot and excel at track.

My younger sisters, Nudge and Ella are always desperately trying to put make up on my face. There's nothing wrong with wearing make up, but that's just not who I am. Apparently, they had heard that mom was going to ask the new neighbors to come over for dinner and they wanted to practice dolling me up incase one of the new neighbors happened to be a boy.

I shook my head and continued running. I already had enough boy problems, as it is, thank you very much. Dylan, a boy I go to school with, was always going out of his way to impress me. Other girls would think that is sweet, but personally, I think it makes him a try-hard.

An hour later when I got home from my run, I stumbled into the kitchen and gulped down about ten thousand glasses of water. Every time I run, I try to push myself as hard as I can, which makes me better.

"MAX, ELLA, NUDGE AND GAZZY!" My mom shouted, probably thinking I was upstairs.

"WHAT?" I shouted back from the kitchen, not wanting to walk into the living room.

"COME TO THE LIVING ROOM."

I groaned but walked over to the living room, where my mom was waiting.

My mom is the best mom in the world. Every kid probably thinks that about his or her parents, but in my case, it happens to be true. My mom puts up with all four of us, is completely patient and understanding and lets not forget her most amazing quality: her homemade chocolate chip cookies!

Simultaneously, Ella, Nudge and Gazzy tried to walk down the stairs. When they realized that wasn't going to work, Gazzy slid down the banister, essentially giving our mother a heart attack.

"Gazzy! Don't do that!"

"Sorry." He grinned, his blue eyes not showing any hints of remorse.

Out of all my siblings, I can probably say that Gazzy is my best friend. We're both juniors in high school, but he skipped a grade so technically he's a year younger. Gazzy is carefree and my partner in crime.

My mom sat down, which indicated that we should do the same.

"Okay, so I invited the new neighbors over for dinner tomorrow and they should be here at about 7:00. And I want you all on your best behavior." Mom said, particularly eyeing Gazzy and I.

I tried to look offended and said, "Are we ever anything else but on our best behavior?"

My mom ignored that and said, "Plus, they have kids."

"ZOMG how old are they? Are they boys or girls? Did you see them? Did they look nice? This is so exciting, I literally-"

"Nudge, please." My mom groaned, along with Gazzy and I. Ella and Nudge were best friends, so Ella wasn't really phased by Nudge's rants.

"Sorry, mom." Nudge said cheekily.

"Anyway, to answer your question, Jackie, the woman, said that she did have kids. Three of them. Iggy, Fang and Angel."

"Fang?" I snorted. Who would name their kid Fang?

"Maximum." My three siblings said in unison. I fought the urge to shove them all and waited for my mom to offer any sort of explanation.

"His real name is Nick; Fang is just a nickname." Oh, that makes sense.

"Fang and Iggy are about your age, and the little one, Angel, is about seven." My mom continued.

"Aww, how sweet! I-"

Before Nudge could continue, my mother spoke, "Also, your father is probably going to be home, so I want all of you to be polite and dress nice."

Apparently in Nudge and Ella world, 'dress nice' roughly translates to 'make Max suffer and try to tell her what to wear', because when those two words left my mothers lips, both girls looked over to me and squealed in unison.

Oh no.

With that being said, my mom dismissed us and we all ran upstairs into our rooms.

"You can run, Max, but you can't hide!" Nudge and Ella singsonged. Joy.

If my mom really wanted to impress that Jackie woman, that probably means they really hit it off and we are going to be seeing much more of her and her kids.

**Updated 3/19/14**

**This chapter was in desperate need of fixing, so I couldn't wait till Saturday to fix it! So! What did y'all think? It was kind of a filler, but that means when I fix the next chapter it'll be longer!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Edited 3/20/14**

FPOV

What was the deal with this weather? It's hot in California, but we occasionally had cool days. In Arizona, 70 degrees is probably the closest it gets to winter. My typical wardrobe of all black would not suffice here.

We spent most of today setting up the house and fixing our things. After a few grueling hours of moving furniture, Iggy and I were allowed a break.

"Man, I am starving." Iggy groaned. His shirt was drenched in sweat, just like mine.

"Same here." I replied, raking my fingers through my hair. I secretly hoped it wouldn't come to the point where I had to cut it, since my hair is my one true vanity.

"What time is it?" Iggy inquired, a thoughtful look on his face.

"About 4:30." I answered, wondering what my friends in California were doing. Did they miss me? More importantly, did Vanessa miss me as much as I missed her? Just thinking about her made my heart ache.

"At what time are we going to Dr. Martinez's house, mom?" Iggy shouted to our mom, who was currently putting plates away in the kitchen.

"7:00!" She shouted back.

"Mom, I'm starving!" Iggy complained.

"There's some chips in the pantry."

Then at the speed of light, Iggy practically flew to the kitchen to retrieve the bag of chips.

While we munched on that, we logged onto Netflix and watched a couple of episodes of Supernatural. Before we knew it, mom was forcing us in the shower.

I didn't know what to expect at dinner tonight. Mrs. Martinez seemed nice enough, but the mention of other kids my age made me uneasy. I really don't make friends easily. It took my friends back in California about a year to get me to open up.

It's not that I like being difficult; I've just never _clicked_ with someone. I've never met anyone who I could instantly feel a connection with and say, _hey, I want to be your friend._

Mrs. Martinez failed to mention whether her children were boys or girls. But if she lived next door with the make-up guinea pig girls, then I was in for a long, obnoxious night.

"Fang? Are you almost ready?" My mom shouted. I'd just gotten out of the shower and just needed to get dressed, so I said, "Yeah."

And get dressed I did. Instead of going with my routine all-black, I decided to wear blue jeans, white converse along with my Blink 182 shirt with a flannel over it.

I went downstairs to find my mom and Angel waiting. Apparently, we were just waiting for Iggy, who was taking longer than usual.

"What are you doing up there?" I called up to him.

"Stop yapping! I'm coming." He yelled back. He made his way downstairs, looking different than usual.

"Did you _comb_ your hair?" I asked incredulously. Iggy _never_ combed his hair. It always looked like he stuck his finger in a socket, but right now it was styled in a quiff sort of thing.

"Yeah. You should try it."

"Stop arguing, boys. I want you to be on your best behavior. Be nice and courteous and speak in full sentences when someone speaks to you, Fang. And Iggy, don't you dare annoy their girls. And Angel, just be… well, an angel." My mother instructed nervously, obviously wanting to make a good impression.

We all mumbled out some sort of agreement and walked out the door, not really knowing what to expect.

Mom knocked on the door, and I looked over at Iggy, who was checking his reflection of his phone. Seriously?

The door opened suddenly, and a man with sandy brown hair and blue eyes greeted us. "Hello! You must be the Mercers. I'm Jeb. C'mon in."

"Hello! Thank you for welcoming us into your home." My mom smiled as she walked in. As we took in our surroundings, I heard a vaguely familiar voice chattering away.

"…and I really like him, but I'm not sure how he feels about me since you know, he talks to a lot of girls. It really doesn't bother me because all attractive guys talk to a lot of girls but if things ever got serious between us, I would totally get mad. Oh! The other day he said my hair looked nice and that he loved how it looked which means he loves me since my hair is apart of me, right?" The girl said with an earnest tone.

"Totally." The other girl nodded eagerly. She looked like she was about to say more, but Jeb interrupted them.

"Girls. Show's over. Come say hello to the Mercers."

Immediately, the darker girl began speaking. "ZOMG, hi I'm Nudge! I'm so happy you guys moved in next door because-"

"Hi, I'm Ella." The other girl cut in, nudging… Nudge with her elbow.

We exchanged introductions, and as always, there was an eyebrow raise when I introduced myself as Fang.

"It's a nickname. My name is actually Nick." I explained. Understanding washed over their features.

"Come to the dining room!" Jeb said while ushering us into what was, you guessed right, the dining room. Everything looked nice and fancy, so I guess he gets paid well.

"My wife is in the kitchen right now. And…" Jeb craned his neck, looking around. "I seem to be missing two of my kids."

He told us to sit down and we did. Immediately, Iggy struck up a conversation with Nudge and Ella, so I was left staring off to space.

Suddenly, Mrs. Martinez came in. "Oh, Danielle! Hello! Welcome to our home!"

"Valencia! Thank you so much for having us over!" My mom gushed, and proceeded to tell her how hectic our day was settling in.

Angel shifted nervously in her seat, and looked up at me for reassurance. I smiled at her briefly and put my arm around her.

Mrs. Martinez looked up in mid-sentence and asked her husband, "Where are Max and Gazzy?"

Jeb groaned. "Those kids, I swear."

MPOV 

"They're gonna laugh at me!" I groaned to Gazzy. Usually, I wouldn't care what a couple of kids thought at about me, but I felt ridiculous in the get up Nudge and Ella forced me into.

It all started this morning, when they brought it up during breakfast. I was innocently eating my fifth pancake, when Ella suddenly said, "Hey, mom? Is Max allowed to wear jeans tonight?"

"Ella, it's a free country. I'm allowed to wear jeans whenever I feel like it." I grumbled while drizzling more syrup over my pancake.

"Maaaaaax." Ella whined.

My mom glanced at me then at my two sisters. "Well, I really would appreciate it if you dressed a little more formal tonight, Max. Maybe Ella and Nudge can help you out."

But Ella and Nudge registered her last sentence as; "You guys should torture Max and force her into the most uncomfortable clothing you can to find!"

And forced me into the most uncomfortable clothing they did.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I'm not exactly a dress person. But as far as dresses go, this one was all right. It wasn't a party dress or anything; it was more like a sundress.

I blatantly refused to put on makeup, no matter how many times Nudge flashed her big, doe-like eyes (I like to call them Bambi Eyes, a lethal weapon) at me. I did let them straighten my hair, though. I'm surprised to say I liked how it turned out.

And now I sat in my room with Gazzy, both of us reluctant to go downstairs.

"Max, I hate to say it but you actually look nice." Gazzy sighed, as if complimenting me was a mortal sin, which in little brother land, it probably is.

"Gee, thanks."

"No problem. And we should probably start heading downstairs before Jeb looses his shit." Gazzy chimed.

No matter how many times mom insisted we call Jeb 'dad', none of us ever will. Once upon a time, he was our dad. He would take us to the park, taught us how to read, the usual dad things. Until I was about 12, that is. He got some big hotshot job in California and lives there now, coming to visit only once a month.

I snickered. "You're probably right. I bet he's throwing a fit right now."

"Maximum! Zephyr! Stop being so inconsiderate and come down here this instant!" Gazzy said, perfectly imitating Jeb's voice. Gazzy had this uncanny ability to mimic voices and while it was cool, it has caused many quarrels in this household.

I laughed and said, "And then he'll get all purple!"

Gazzy and I laughed for a few more minutes, musing over Jeb's reaction to our absence.

"Aw, shoot. Mom's gonna kill us." I groaned, suddenly remembering that mom wanted to impress the neighbors.

"Crap." Gazzy muttered. We both made our downstairs, and into the dining room where we were greeted by eight pairs of eyes.

"Maximum Ride. You're blessing us with your presence?" Jeb said.

Gazzy snickered and I elbowed him in the ribs. "That's funny Jeb, considering I only see you once a month."

That shut him up.

I took in the new, unfamiliar faces and smiled. "Hi. I'm Max."

"Hi, Max!" A little girl, around 6 or 7 smiled at me cheerfully. This kid was definitely the definition of cute with her blonde little curls and her big blue eyes.

"Hi, sweetie! What's your name?" I asked. When it comes to little kids, I'm a total softie.

"Angel." She smiled.

There were only two empty chairs, and I sat down next to a boy about my age. His floppy black hair was slightly covering his right eye and his olive complexion was nice. When he turned to look at me, I noticed his eyes were like midnight; black with little golden specks.

"Hi." I said to him.

"Hello." He replied, looking a bit bemused.

I don't want to sound weird, but I instantly felt a connection to this guy. Not like a 'Oh my god I'm so in love with you let's get married and have 1.6 kids' kind of way, more like a 'wow I can tell we're going to be great friends' kind of way.

"I'm Fang." He introduced himself. I must've looked a little startled at his name because he said, "Well, that's my nickname. My name is actually Nick."

"Did you go through like a Twilight phase or something?" I asked.

"Not exactly." He said, the faintest of smiles on his lips.

I turned around to say something to Gazzy, but found that he was currently in conversation with the other boy. It sounded like they were having an avid conversation about the many methods of building a successful stink bomb.

"That's my brother. Iggy." He said motioning over to the boy my brother was conversing with.

"Right." I nodded, mentally noting down all their names. "So what brings you guys to Nowhere, Arizona?" I questioned.

Fang's face darkened for a moment but responded, "My parents got a divorce."

I don't know why but I said, "My parents might as well be divorced. I only see my dad once a month. He lives and works and California, but thinks it's okay to come home to us 12 times out of the whole year."

My words must've sounded pretty bitter because Fang patted me on the back and said, "It's okay. You're not alone."

I smiled and before I could say anything, Harry, the man my mother occasionally hires to cook for us when her schedule is too frantic, brought out our meal.

"So, Fang, do you know what school you guys are going to attend?" I asked between huge bites of steak.

"Yeah. Westchester High." He groaned. I feel you, Fang. I feel you.

"It's not so bad. You just have to watch out for the bitches and the fakes. A prime example of a bitch and a fake is Lissa Rivers." I then proceeded to tell him why I despised Lissa so, and he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Why would she bully Ella? You sure showed her." Fang said with a half smile, and I instantly knew we were going to be great friends.

After dessert, or slice of heaven as my mom had made her famous homemade chocolate chip cookies, an argument broke out. The adults had gone outside and we were alone, so no one bothered with politeness.

It started as an innocent 'All About Me' game, but ended up fiercer than a game of monopoly.

"My name is Zephyr, but I prefer Gazzy. Please don't ask, I was like, 8. I like playing basketball and I'm in a band. I can also rap-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I interrupted. "You _cannot_ rap."

Gazzy glared at me. "Can too."

"Nuh uh."

"Yuh huh."

Before we could continue, Iggy said, "Well why don't you just rap and we'll be the judge of that?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Gazzy said, scratching his neck.

"That's because you can't. As in you do not possess the ability to rap." I said slowly, and Fang chuckled.

And before we knew it, Gazzy was rapping some Eminem song, and Iggy joined in. It didn't sound quite bad, but rap isn't my cup of tea.

"Wow, Gaz. My ears didn't fall off." I teased. I knew he was a good singer, but he never expressed any interest in rap.

Gazzy said a very inappropriate word to me, and I didn't risk retorting because my mom recently implemented a swear jar and most of the money in there was mine.

"Your turn, Fang!" I sing-songed to Fang, while poking his side. Ella and Nudge giggled and probably would've started talking if Fang hadn't.

"I'm Fang. I like soccer and uh, guitar."

"Very poetic." Iggy commented, and I snorted. Fang jabbed his elbow to my ribs and I jabbed him right back, twice as hard. We continued like this for a while until Ella said, "Geez, Max. You're gonna freaking kill him!"

I promptly stopped and shot Fang an apologetic smile, which he returned. After that we talked about anything and everything. Fang was really easy to talk to, and once you broke his shell, he was pretty funny.

"Thank you so much for having us over!" Danielle said to my mom.

"Come over anytime! This is your home!" My mom smiled.

"Bye Fang! You better text me!" I ordered him.

He did a soldier salute and said, "Sir, yes, sir!"

I laughed and waved goodbye to him, as he and his family disappeared out the door, and walked over to their house.

The next day, Fang and I hung out all day. We watched some anime shows he liked and when we realized we both were Supernatural fanatics, we immediately started bickering.

"I'm more like Dean Winchester than you!" I argued, throwing popcorn at him.

"No you're not! I'm Dean, you're Sam." He argued back, trying to put a sense of finality in his tone. Fail.

"Think again, Fangles. I'm more like Dean Winchester than you'll ever be! Right, mom?" I shouted to my mom, who was making her way upstairs, probably to escape our bickering.

"Yes, Max."

"Ha!" I said to Fang, poking him in the chest.

"She probably just said that so you could shut up." He pointed out.

"Shut up, Fang!" I said, smacking him with a pillow.

**Wow, it took me about 3 days to rewrite this. Some things completely changed, but it's pretty much the same general idea. God, what was my 12-year-old self thinking?**

**Please review! It really motivates me to write and edit more :D**

**Oh and I was so excited when I checked out my story and saw some ads for the Arctic Monkeys next to it! Eep! They're one of my favorite bands. If you haven't listened to them, check them out! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Edited 3/23/14**

MPOV

I groaned as my alarm beeped continuously. I considered just sleeping in, but I knew that if I didn't go running right now, it was going to come back and bite me in the butt.

So I got up and changed in to running shoes, along with Nike Pro shorts and a t-shirt. Once my hair was up in a ponytail, I grabbed my iPod and headphones and make my way downstairs and out the door.

It was 5:30 in the morning, so it was pretty dark. As I ran, I mused over the thought that today would be Fang's first day of hell, uh I mean, school. He would meet my other friends and band members, too. I hoped they got along.

I tried speeding up as Mayday Parade blared through my headphones. I knew I would make Varsity track for sure, but if I wanted to place 1st in everything, then I had to really step it up.

Even though I was wearing headphones, I heard the soft footsteps behind me, as if someone were trying to keep up. I took a quick glance back, and rolled my eyes. _Dylan._

As far as annoying, desperate guys go, Dylan is truly one of the worst. He is obsessed with me. And when I say obsessed, I mean he-saw-me-running-at-five-in-the-morning-and-now-runs-at-five-in-the-morning-too obsessed. It was kind of creepy. Okay, it was _very_ creepy, but if he every tried anything, I could easily snap his neck.

He didn't see me look at him, so I didn't feel bad when I went even faster, up to the point where he probably couldn't even see me anymore. I was panting, sure, but that was the fastest I've ever gone. After doing three laps around my vast neighborhood, I went back home.

After I stop running, my legs cramp up really bad, which makes me really mad since I have to go up the stairs to get to my room. So I stretched for a bit and drank about 10 glasses of water, then went up to my room to shower.

Once I was all nice and clean, I slipped into some blue jeans, an oversized sweater with the word 'RAD' written across the chest, and my white high top converse. It was an outfit Nudge and Ella would peg as casual, but to me it was really girly.

I didn't know what to do with my hair, so I just loosely fishtail braided and let the braid rest on my shoulder. I know what you're thinking: _Since when does Maximum Ride know how to braid?_

It's a funny story, really. My hair grows pretty fast and it gets annoying when I run, as it tends to get out of my ponytail. I remember I came home extremely ticked one day and was about to cut if all off, but thankfully, my mother stopped me and suggested I looked up some YouTube videos on how to braid.

And looked up some YouTube videos I did. I know how to do a handful of braids now, which is pretty useful.

I checked the time on my phone and saw that it was barely 8:00. The late bell rings at 8:45, so we still had plenty of time. I ran downstairs and scarfed down two bowls of cereal and a banana.

Suddenly, Gazzy strolled in fully dressed but with a half-asleep expression. He sat down next to me and I ruffled up his hair. "Mornin', Gaz."

"Notice how 'morning' and 'mourning' sound the same." He groaned, putting his head down. I stifled a chuckle and poured him a bowl of cereal. It was the same thing every morning; he would complain about not wanting to wake up and by first period, he was wide-awake and full of energy.

"Nice observation, Gaz." I smiled. He made a 'heh' sound before picking his head up and eating the cereal I poured out for him.

"Thanks."

"No problemo." I replied.

Just as I was about to yell at Nudge and Ella to hurry the heck up, the came running down the stairs.

"Good morning!" Ella sang out. Gazzy groaned again and Ella shot him a dirty look.

"ZOMG, are we giving Fang and Iggy a ride to school today? Because that would be really cool! We could carpool! That would be so cute! Of course, Max would probably drive everyday but-"

"That's a great idea, Nudge! Which is why I offered Fang a ride yesterday and he said that he and Iggy would ride with us." I dished. Nudge and Ella exchanged a look and squealed about texting our friend Kassy 'the juice.'

Whatever that was.

While Gazzy, Nudge and Ella piled into the car, I knocked on Fang and Iggy's door. Fang, whom was eating a breakfast bar, opened the door. Iggy was visible behind the door, scrambling to get his backpack and cellphone.

"Ready to go, Fang? Iggy?" I asked, amused.

"Yup!" Iggy said, and they followed me to my car.

Gazzy had this thing about letting no one else ride shotgun, so Fang and Iggy went in the back with Ella and Nudge.

As we drove to school, which was only like ten minutes away, we jammed out to Linkin Park.

"_I put my trust in you, pushed as far as I could go, for all this there's only one thing you should knoooooooow…" _

I caught Fang's eye through the mirror and waggled my eyebrows. He half smiled and slightly bobbed his head to the music. Thank God Fang liked cool music like this and not Lil Wayne or something.

As we arrived at the school parking lot, I heard Nudge chattering on to Fang and Iggy, "Like, Ells and I are sophomores but we happen to know that the junior teachers are really cool! So you guys don't have to be nervous about anything. Plus, I'm pretty sure you'll have at least one of our friends in each of your classes."

Fang and Iggy nodded as they took in this new information. They didn't exactly radiate with nervousness, but it was apparent that they felt uneasy.

"Right. What friends?" Iggy wondered.

"Jess and Kassy. They're twins. And there are two guys that hang out with them. Marcus and Remi." Ella answered as we all got off the car.

As soon as we got inside the school, Nudge and Ella ran off to find their other friends, while Gazzy and I went with Fang and Iggy to get their schedules.

"Sweet! We have most of our classes together!" Gazzy said to Iggy. I looked over Fang's schedule and saw we had a couple of classes together. We navigated through the school and ended up right in front of my locker.

"Cool! We'll show you guys around. Let me just put the books I don't need in here." I said. Just as I began to turn the dial on my combination, someone pushed me so my back was against the lockers.

I looked up and saw Trent. Ugh. He pisses me off more than works can convey. He's your stereotypical football player who bullies nerds and thinks he can get any girl. I rolled my eyes as he smirked and put his hands against the locker, so I couldn't move.

"You. Me. Date. Sunday." He smirked.

"Why. Are. You. Talking. Like. This." I mocked. I guess that didn't really help his temper, so he pushed me and my head hit my locker.

I saw Fang and Iggy lunge forward, ready to kick Trent's butt, but Gazzy stopped them.

"Guys, don't. She can handle this."

And handle it I did.

I kneed him in the crotch, and then managed a swift punch right above his kidney, so it probably hurt like hell. He crouched over and glared at me.

"You bi-"

"Max!"

I turned around and was caught up in someone's embrace. Dylan.

"Max, are you okay? Did he try anything? Oh, god! Why wasn't I here to protect you?" He cried, his arms still around me.

"Whoa there, buddy. Get your paws off me." I said while pushing him away. Dylan frowned, but didn't saw anything.

I turned around and Gazzy high fived me.

"Nice punch. You should've hit him in the head, though. Maybe he'd be able to conjure proper sentences." Gazzy commented. I snorted and before I could reply, the intercom bellowed:

"Maximum Ride to the principal's office, Maximum Ride, please report to the principal's office."

Oh goody.

**A big thank you to everyone reading! I'm currently rewriting the chapters, so if this is the first time you're reading this fic, some things might not add up. I've been trying to edit as fast as I can while writing new chapters, but it's quite difficult with school and all. I decided I'm going to edit all the chapters until I reach chapter 10, which is the chapter I wrote this year. Thanks for being patient!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Edited 3/23/14**

FVOP

_Well, that was an interesting way to start off the morning, _I mused to myself as Gazzy helped Iggy and I navigate through the building.

"Does that happen a lot?" Iggy pondered. Gazzy laughed and said, "Well, no. It's not something you'll see everyday. She just knows how to defend herself from those meatheads."

"Is she going to get in trouble?" I asked quietly. I've only known Max for two days, and I know that Dr. Martinez would be disappointed in her.

"Nah. But… We usually go to the principal's office together…" Gazzy frowned, obviously feeling left out. He was silent almost the whole way to our homeroom until he brightened up and smiled mischievously. He broke out in a sprint and pushed a guy, knocking them both over.

"ZEPHYR RIDE!" A loud, stern voice called out. Gazzy turned and winked at us before saying, "Yes, Mr. Brunner?"

"You fool! How many times have to told you to _stop running in the hallway?!_ You go straight to the principal's office. I presume Maximum is already there?" He sneered.

Geez, this guy seemed to _really_ dislike Gazzy and Max.

"Righto, señor Brunner!" Gazzy said cheerfully. He then proceeded to help the boy he knocked over and then walked over to us.

"The twins are in this class! They'll help you guys out!"

Then he skipped off to the principal's office.

Iggy and I walked into the classroom and Mr. Brunner didn't say anything. I guess he didn't know that we were with Gazzy. We looked for empty seats and were about to sit down before we heard, "Hey! You guys are Max's new neighbors, right?"

I guess we found the twins. I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart if it weren't for their obvious contrasting personalities.

One was dressed preppy, with her white button down, blazer and skirt. The other one was wearing an Arctic Monkeys shirt with a red flannel over it and jeans. The preppy one was wearing make up and had her hair done straight, while the other one had it in a simple braid and was makeup free.

"So… you guys are the twins?" Iggy said.

"Unfortunately." The preppy one answered, casting a distasteful look at her twin.

"You guys are Fang and Iggy, right?" The, in my opinion anyway, cooler one said.

"Yep."

"Let me guess," the preppy one said, "you're Fang?"

She was pointing at me so I nodded.

"Hi, I'm Jessica, you can call me Jess. This is my sister, Kassandra, or Kassy." The one in the Arctic Monkeys tee said.

"Hi, Jess, I'm Iggy and you can call me anytime you'd like."

Jess and her sister groaned simultaneously and I nudged Iggy in the ribs. He shrugged and sat down. That was the only open seat by the twins so I had to sit down next to a girl with pretty red hair.

As soon as I sat down, she looked up at me. She was pretty, I suppose. Her hair was shoulder length and her almond shaped eyes were green. I bet she would've had freckles too if she didn't have so much makeup on.

"Hi. I'm Lissa. You must be new, I'd remember someone as hot as you." Her voice was kind of nasally.

Well.

I looked at her and was surprised of how much she reminded me of Vanessa, my ex-girlfriend. I had to break up with her because of the move, but if I go out with Lissa, would I feel like I'm in California?

"Yep. I am new. I'm Fang." I introduced myself. She grinned and twisted a bit of her hair.

"Oh! I'll show you around!" She volunteered. I was about to tell her that the twins were going to show me around, but for some reason I kept my mouth shut.

"That'd be cool." I answered. She was pretty and all, but she seemed kind of bitchy and her voice was going to drive me insane.

I must've looked annoyed, because she said, "Oh, it's my voice. It was broken when I was younger."

We talked for the rest of the period and I felt like I was missing something important. Lissa…

Why does that name sound so familiar?

MPOV

I was sitting in the principal's office for about 5 minutes until Gazzy showed up. I tried to hide my grin as he plopped down in the chair next to mine.

"Max. Gazzy." The principal greeted us. The fact that we were on a nickname basis with her pretty much explains everything.

"Mrs. Nobel! How's my favorite principal doing?" I asked her cheerfully. She tried to keep a stern expression, but failed.

"I'm doing well! And so is Mr. Whiskers, thanks to your mom!"

Mom is a vet, so she had done Mrs. Nobel a solid and gave her cat a free checkup. Turns out, the cat was on the brink of death, but mom managed to save it's life. Long live Mr. Whiskers.

"I'm glad to hear that, Mrs. Nobel." I smiled. Gazzy snorted next to me and I kicked his leg, signaling for him to shut up.

"Now, Max. You know why you're here, don't you?"

I nodded.

"I already talked to Trent and he says that he started it. I went over the security footage and saw all I needed to see. As for you, Gazzy, I understand you've been running in the halls again?"

This time it was Gazzy's turn to nod.

"It seems to me that you do this solely to aggravate Mr. Brunner. Though both of your offenses are minor, I'm going to suspend you for the day. And let this be a warning, I do not want to see you in my office again for fighting _or_ running in the halls. Understand?"

"Yes, Mrs. Nobel." Gazzy and I answered in unison.

Once we left the office, I was so glad we drove to school today because if we had to call mom to pick us up, we'd be so dead.

"This is great! Now we can do whatever we want!" Gazzy cheered as we climbed into my car.

"I know! The only thing is that we wont be able to show Fang and Iggy around. Hopefully they've found the twins and the boys." I replied. "So, where to?"

"Let's go to the movies." Gazzy exclaimed, releasing his inner 8 year old.

"Fine, but you're totally paying."

FPOV

I walked into my math class and sat down next to Jess. She had her head down and it snapped up when she heard me. Then before I could do anything, she glared at me and put her head back down.

_O-kay…_

I watched the rest of the class pour in, and the teacher began to write on the board. Jessica seemed to be napping.

"Jessica Cole. Could you please give me the answer to problem number 7?" The teacher practically sneered.

"Sure. X=52." Jess replied just as snarky. Mr. Deaton, the teacher, was shocked at her correct answer and left her alone after that.

Once that class was over, she practically flew out of the classroom, but not before giving me another glare.

Now, fast forward to Advanced English and we'll have a repeat of that class, only that time it was with the other twin, Kassandra, two other guys and Iggy.

Lissa was in that class, so naturally I sat down next to her. I turned around to look at Iggy, but Kassandra was whispering in his ear and he gave me a disapproving look.

Wow. My own brother.

By the end of the day, I was tired and confused and I just wanted to go to bed.

I walked outside with Lissa, waiting for Max. She had texted us all in the morning that she and Gaz were suspended for the day, but she would pick us up at the end of the day.

Just then, she arrived and her eyes nearly popped out when she saw me. Then she glared. Oh god.

She got off her car and said, "Uh, Fang? Why are you hanging out of _Lissa Rivers?_"

She said Lissa Rivers the way some people would say 'piece of shit' or 'math homework.'

Lissa Rivers. Why should I know that name?

"Lissa? She's cool." I shrugged.

"Yeah, Max. I'm cool." Lissa said, her tone seeping with smugness.

"You wanna-"

"Max! Why are you acting like this?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Why? Because I opened up to you! I thought we were friends and then you go befriend the one person I can't stand! Well, besides Dylan." Max yelled, adding her last sentence as an after thought.

Lissa Rivers.

It all finally made sense. This Lissa is the Lissa that bullied Ella when she was younger. The same Lissa that Max beat up. And according to Max, the same Lissa who still gives her a hard time.

Max must've noticed that I just had an epiphany because she said, "Yeah. You get it now. C'mon guys."

I hadn't even noticed that everyone was there: Nudge, Ella, Gazzy and Iggy.

"What about Fang?" Nudge whispered.

"He can hitch hike for all I care." Max snapped and they all piled into her car.

What have I done?

**Just finished updating this chapter. I probably could've updated it sooner, but I was too caught up watching Death Note :D Hope you all enjoy **


	6. Chapter 6

MPOV

The car ride home was silent. I don't know what I would've done if someone spoke, maybe snap at them, but I was grateful for the taciturnity.

I dropped Iggy off then drove the rest of us home, which was right next door. I couldn't believe Fang hung out with Lissa the whole day and then acted clueless when I confronted him.

_Or could he have actually not known?_

Well, whatever. Why does it matter anyway? It's not liked I cared.

I walked up to my room and shut the door, not letting anyone see me cry.

ELLA POV

Nudge and I were running drills in soccer practice while trying to talk about the whole Max/Fang thing.

"Okay, I get why Max is mad but I think Fang honestly thought he was with a different Lissa." I whispered to Nudge while performing a swift Maradona.

"I know!" Nudge whisper-shouted back to me. "I remember I heard her telling him about the Incident and she didn't describe Lissa. Had she said 'red hair', then I'm pretty sure he would've steered clear of her."

I nodded in agreement as our coach shouted to get ready to run. Nudge and I groaned simultaneously and got ready.

I knew Max was hurting right now. What could I do to make her feel better?

"ZOMG Mom! Is it okay if we invite the twins and the guys over?" Nudge asked our mom, giving her the 'Bambi Eyes.'

"Sure, sweetheart." Mom answered. We were in the car, driving home from soccer practice. Nudge and I were both extremely sore and exhausted, but that didn't matter right now. Right now, we had to cheer Max up.

"Okay, Nudge. You text the guys and I'll text the twins." I instructed and Nudge nodded, already on it.

I started a group message with Kassy and Jess so it would be easier.

_To: Kassy, Jess_

_Guys come over ASAP! Bring your swimming gear! Xoxoxoxo_

_From: Jess_

_What exactly do we need our swimming costumes for?_

_From: Kassy_

_What do you think, Jessica? So we can go skydiving?_

_From: Jess_

_Fuck you, Kassandra. _

I snorted at the twin's argument and wondered why there's been so much tension between them. My phone vibrated and I looked down.

_From: Kassandra_

_Don't worry, Ella! We'll be there soon! .xx_

I smiled and said, "Alright, the twins are on board. Kinda."

"Great! Marcus and Remi said they could come!" Nudge grinned. "Ooooh, I texted Iggy too. That's cool right?"

"Totally!" I said, ignoring the blush on my cheeks.

MPOV

I stood up from my bed and wiped my cheeks. I glanced outside my window and saw Fang walking into his house. Even though I was upset, angry, betrayed, and beyond pissed, I missed talking to him.

Suddenly, the front door opened and Ella sang out, "Oh, Maaaaaax!"

"Yeah?" I called out to her.

"Come downstairs!"

I expelled a sigh and trudged downstairs. What now?

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I walked into the kitchen because that's where Ella's voice came from. I broke out in a grin when I saw everyone there.

The twins, Marcus, Remi, Iggy, Angel, Nudge and Ella were waiting for me with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

"You guys!" I laughed.

"We're having a pool party! So go get changed!" Nudge instructed. I obliged and went upstairs to change.

Man, am I lucky to have them or what?

NUDGE POV

I was so happy that we managed to make Max smile! When Iggy came over, he said that Angel really wanted to see Max so he brought her, which is totally cute!

Iggy also said he knew how to cook, so he is currently baking a cake, which is so sweet of him!

Right now, Ella, Kassy and I were trying to force Jess into one of our swimsuits but she refused.

"C'mon Jess! This one is totally your color!" Ella said, holding up a bright pink bikini.

"Neon is _no one's _color." Jessica replied. If Max or Gazzy were here, they would've snickered, but we're not Max and Gaz! We are determined to make her wear a cute swimsuit.

She brought a one-piece with some board shorts, which didn't flatter her figure at all.

"Stop being so stubborn! We just want to make you look nice for once in your life!" Kassandra snapped at her twin.

"Gee, thanks." Jess replied and walked out of the room, probably going to Max's.

Ella and I glared at Kassy.

"What? Was that too mean? I didn't mean for it to come out mean!" She said innocently.

Ella patted her shoulder and said, "We know you didn't yell at her on purpose."

Is it just me or is Kassy being mean to Jess more than usual? ZOMG, you should never be mean to your siblings, _especially _your twin whom you were in the womb in!

I guess I must've spaced out for a while because I was totally lost when Ella said, "Right, Nudge?"

So I just smiled and said, "Of course!"

GAZZY POV

I was walking out of my room when I bumped into Jess. I held her arms so she wouldn't fall and noticed that she was swallowing a lot, which probably meant that she was trying not to cry.

"Oops." Was all she said.

"Hi." I responded, and without another word, I walked her back into my room. Once I shut the door and locked it, I sat down on my bed. Instead of following me she sat against the wall, her head slumped.

Without another word, I went to go sit next to her and wrapped my arms around her. She cried silently, never making a sound.

MAX POV

I couldn't stop smiling. I was glad that Ella had invited everyone over. The cake Iggy had baked was great. I thought there was going to be eggshells in it or something, but I was proved wrong.

We were all in the pool, except for Gazzy and Jess, who were whispering to each other in the gazebo. Iggy and I were keeping a special eye on Angel, after she claimed that she could breathe under water.

Iggy didn't mention Fang and neither did I. Though I could tell that he felt bad for Fang, he also knew that what he did had a huge impact on me. Its things like this that makes me so closed off.

"Max, could we play a game please?" Angel requested.

"Sure!"

And that's how we ended up playing shoulder wars for an hour, Kassy always paired up with Marcus or Remi, Ella and Nudge paired up, and Iggy, Angel and I alternating. No matter how many times we called out to Jess and Gazzy to come play, they both refused.

Gazzy was looking at Jess with such a caring expression; I couldn't help but wonder if he liked her. I was definitely going to grill him later. Gazzy had never expressed interest in a girl and Ella, Nudge and I had secretly joked that he was gay. But with the way he was looking at Jess right now, I was pretty sure he was in love with her or at least liked her a lot.

And the frustrating part is that she didn't notice.

She was looking at Remi with a pained expression, while Kassy squealed and splashed water at him.

This was all definitely so messed up and dramatic. I felt like we were in some kind of book or soap opera.

Jess was in like a love rectangle, because everyone but her knows that Marcus likes her too.

Kassy was being a bitch to Jess, we all knew it.

And oh, yeah.

Fang had betrayed me to my childhood enemy, who also happened to try to make my life miserable right now.

**Ughhh I was **_**NOT **_**happy with the way this chapter came out. It was honestly just a filler, but it's better than having the chapter I wrote when I was 12 up. Review and tell me what you think! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Edited 3/29/14**

FPOV

I apologized to Max, explaining how I didn't know I was hanging with the same Lissa who had caused the Incident, but she wasn't having it.

And right now, I sat in math class alongside Gazzy, Max, and Jess, all who were not talking to me. Instead, they whispered amongst each other.

"And, now that you've simplified the fraction, you have to- Maximum Ride! Would you like to share with the class?" Mr. Deaton snarled.

"Uh, _no_. Why do you think I was whispering?" Max shot back. The whole class seemed to be trying to suppress their giggles, while a half smile crept onto my face.

"Oh, you just got burned!" Gazzy laughed. Mr. Deaton gave him a stern look and Gazzy added, "sir."

Jessica snorted, and Mr. Deaton glared at her. "Ms. Cole, I'm calling your parents."

The whole class gasped, knowing how unfair it was, but Jessica simply replied, "Ask what we're having for dinner, then. I'm starved."

The class broke out in laughter while Max and Gazzy mumbled to Jessica about how hungry they were too.

"That's it. I want you three out of my classroom _now_." Mr. Deaton practically growled while pointing at the trio. While they left the room, Max turned around and shot a look full of regret.

By the time we were in Social Studies, Max and her two partners in crime were back. Kassandra, Remi, Marcus and Iggy were all in this class too, which increased my shitty feeling.

Before class started, I caught snippets of their conversation, which was interesting, to say the least.

"So, I'm trying out for the school play!" Kassandra said excitedly.

"Sounds great!" Remi said to her enthusiastically. He came across to me like the type of guy who would do anything to get laid, to be honest. I chuckled at the thought.

"You? In the school play?" Gazzy laughed and Jessica smiled.

"Why are you smiling? I'm more talented than you, so you shouldn't be laughing." Kassandra snapped at her sister. Remi nodded along and Jessica shot up from her desk.

"Where are you going?" Max demanded.

"I bloody need to get out of here." Jessica muttered, her accent more prominent. She ran out of the room before the teacher could stop her.

Despite all the glares she's given me, I liked her. She seemed friendly enough and I know her hostility is only coming from the fact that I hurt Max. I had enough experience to know that something was wrong.

Max and I glanced at each other and shared a concerned look. Then, as if some one had slapped her, she jerked her head to the other direction.

Mr. Turner began his lesson on Egypt and most of the class was actually paying attention. It was interesting I had to say.

Then in the middle of class, Jessica burst back in and gave Mr. Turner a white slip of paper. He winced and said, "It's not contagious, is it?"

She gave him a small, counterfeit smile and walked over to her desk and grabbed all her things.

"How am I supposed to get home?" Kassandra practically shouted.

Jessica shrugged and said, "Perhaps Remi could give you a ride."

And with that, she stalked out of class, with Mr. Turner calling out, "Two page essay on the Egyptian gods!"

I looked at Max and her eyes were full of concern. My eyes landed on Jessica's wrist, which was covered in blood.

I don't know how I felt. I felt sad for Jessica, but I also felt sad for myself. If I had paid more attention to what Max was saying at that dinner, then I wouldn't be in this mess.

The concern in Max's eyes made me upset, because she'll never care for me that way again.

A few days passed by, and Max and I were finally on speaking terms. Sure, we weren't having heartfelt conversations, but she wasn't trying to kill me with a glance either.

When Iggy and I went home, I trudged up the stairs.

"Wait, Fang." Iggy said.

"What?"

"You and Max need to make up. It's driving everyone crazy."

"I already tried apologizing. If she wants me to get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness, then she can forget it." I said, rolling my eyes.

"You're not even making an effort." Iggy groaned.

The conversation wasn't going anywhere, so I walked into my bedroom and shut the door.

IGGY POV

When I got to school the next morning, I wandered around the Fine Arts section of the school, whistling a tune that Gazzy always whistles, so therefore, it's stuck in my head.

There was a bulletin board advertising a student exchange trip to Australia, an art competition, and _hello, _a sign up sheet for the school play. I grinned as I wrote down two names, knowing I was doing the best for my friends.

As long as they didn't find out that I had signed them up for the play, I was in the clear. I walked to class, whistling the tune from Kill Bill.

3RD PERSON POV

Mrs. Evan's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the two names written on the school play's sign up sheet.

Maximum Ride, the most popular girl in school had signed up for the play. Apart from being a track star and a bit of a trouble maker, Mrs. Evans knew for a fact that Maximum was very capable of singing.

And the new boy, Nick Mercer, who went by 'Fang' had signed up too. Not only was he attractive, but he also was a very talented artist, and who knows? Maybe he could sing too.

Mrs. Evans dreamed of having a musical, but none of the students ever seemed up to it. So instead they were stuck doing rudimentary plays. This year it was going to be Romeo and Juliet, and like always, Mrs. Evans was having everyone audition with an individual song and a duet.

Maximum and Nick would obviously make the perfect Romeo and Juliet, Mrs. Evans thought to herself as she adjusted the headband on her graying brown hair. Maximum and Nick complimented each other in a way that was too beautiful and rhythmic for words.

This year's play would definitely be a hit.

The next morning, there was something odd going on. Nobody knew exactly what it was, but it couldn't be anything good if Mr. Brunner was in a good mood. As Maximum Ride and her brother Zephyr walked into the room, Mr. Brunner expelled a small cackle, which caused the siblings to give him startled looks.

As the bell rung, signaling the beginning of homeroom, Mr. Brunner shut the door and turned to his class with a huge smile plastered on his face.

Zephyr, or Gazzy as his friends called him, raised his hand. "Sir, not that your smile isn't amazing or anything… but uh, why are you smiling so much? You never smile."

"I'm glad you asked, Zephyr." Mr. Brunner said cheerfully while walking over to his desk and picking up a crisp white sheet of paper with writing scribbled all over it.

"I received this letter from Mrs. Evans, our theater director, this morning. Apparently, two individuals from this class are going to try out for the play."

"Just spit it out already!" Maximum Ride called out, getting frustrated with Mr. Brunner.

Instead of getting mad, like he usually would've done, Mr. Brunner smiled again. "Maximum Ride and Nick Mercer? Please report to the theater. Your auditions will be held there immediately."

"WHAT?" Maximum and Nick said in unison.

Everyone looked at Nick, or Fang, as he preferred, with shocked looks on their faces. Fang _never_ lost his cool.

"You heard me. Please report to the theater so you can audition."

"You and I both know that I didn't sign myself up for a stupid play. I'm not going." _And neither is Fang,_ Max said to herself.

"You will go, Maximum. It's time to start respecting your elders."

With a loud groan, Maximum Ride got up from her desk and walked out the classroom, with Nick Mercer hot on her heels.

"Okay," Fang said, getting straight to the point, "who signed us up for the play."

"No idea." Max replied absentmindedly.

They walked to the theater in silence, wondering what was in store for them. When they arrived, Mrs. Evans hobbled over to them (she had a bad hip) and gave them both European style kisses.

"Uh…" Max said awkwardly.

Mrs. Evans ignored her and said, "Alright! I've picked out a duet for you two-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Duet? I thought this was a play?"

"Yes, it is dear. But what if I want to add a musical number in?" Mrs. Evans explained patiently.

"What's the duet?" Fang asked quietly.

Mrs. Evans smiled at him brightly and said, "Oh, I'm sure you've heard it. It's called 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart.' The song from Ella Enchanted?"

Once Max and Fan confirmed that they were familiar with the song, Mrs. Evans smiled. "Great! Get on the stage and sing for me!"

Easier said than done, Fang thought.

Mrs. Evans pressed play on the control panel for the speakers, and the familiar tune of the song came out.

"_Don't go breakin' my heart,"_ Max sang, slightly uncomfortable, as she wasn't on good terms with Fang.

"_I couldn't if I tried."_ Fang sang back stiffly. Then they both looked at each other, and by just one look, they agreed to give it their all.

"_Oh, honey if I get restless-"_ Max sang walking over to Fang.

"_Baby, you're not that kind." _Fang sang to her, endearingly poking the tip of her nose. Max smiled as they both sang.

"_Oh, oh. Nobody knows it."_

And they spent the rest of the song making up for the time they lost together while they were fighting. Fang twirled Max, lifted her up in the air, while she laughed.

"_So don't go breaking my heart._" Fang finished the song, with his forehead pressed against Max's. He let down his guard and his usually impassive eyes were seeping with emotion.

"Forgive me?" He asked breathlessly, still staring into Max's eyes.

"Yeah." She said back, just as breathless.

"Bravo!" Mrs. Evans cheered with tears brimming in her eyes. "Such chemistry! You two are my Romeo and Juliet, no doubt about it!"

Max and Fang laughed.

"I just need to get someone on board to edit the script. This year we're having Romeo and Juliet: An Alternative Ending." Mrs. Evans sighed.

"My friend Jess could do it. She's crazy smart." And when Max said crazy smart, she meant ranking number one at the top of the class crazy smart.

"Jessica Cole? Oh, please! Ask her, will you?"

Max nodded as she and Fang walked out of the theater, catching up.

MPOV

When Fang and I sat down at our usual table, nearly everyone groaned, "Finally."

"What?" I asked, kind of offended.

"It was literally killing me seeing you two fight." Iggy said.

Ella and Nudge nodded in agreement.

"I'm just happy I can talk to Fang now. I think we have a lot in common." Jess smiled and Gazzy gave her a mock-hurtful look.

"What about us? What about everything we've been through?" Gazzy sang in a perfect imitation of Troy Bolton. Everyone stared at him in amazement and Jess laughed.

"We'll be together forever, Gaz." Jess joked. "But, I meant that Fang likes the same type of music I do." She gestured to Fang's t-shirt, which was advertising 'The Killers.'

"Ugh, Jessica, you're so annoying! You think you're so cool with your stupid little bands!" Kassandra complained.

We all glared at her, except for Marcus and Remi because they were in love with her or something.

"What the fuck is your problem, Kassandra?" Gazzy asked. I was surprised, to be honest. Gazzy hardly ever looses his temper.

"Nothing!" Kassandra said with a high-pitched giggle, "Jess and I always joke like that, don't we sis?"

There was a long pause and Jessica was looking down at her hands, folding and unfolding her fingers, one of her nervous habits.

"Yeah. We do."

I spent the rest of the day talking to Fang. It was good to have my best friend back.

**Hurray for Fax! And man, I really hate Kassandra lol **


	8. Chapter 8

MPOV

"Alright, Gazzy. Spill."

It was a peaceful Sunday morning. Fang and I were planning on hanging out later, maybe like at three, but right now I needed to ask Gazzy something that's been nagging me for a while now.

"What?" Gazzy asked, his mouth full of waffle.

"Do you like Jess?" I blurted out. Usually, he would tell me if he thought a girl was pretty, because we were close like that, but he's never mentioned any non-platonic feelings for Jess. But the way he looks at her makes me wonder if he likes her.

Gazzy choked on his waffle and I had to pound on his back. "No. What makes you think that?"

"The way you look at her."

"How do I look at her?" He wondered. Then he continued to eat.

"Just tell me!" I insisted. Geez, I was becoming like Nudge and Ella more and more each day.

"She's my best friend. I don't like her in that sense, Max." Gazzy replied, rolling his eyes. He got up and made his way up the stairs. He was almost gone but then he called, "And even if I did, she'd never like me back. She likes Remi."

Whaaaaaaat?

Before I could ask anything else, Gazzy walked into his room and slammed the door. Sheesh.

I could've started my homework then, but I decided that I should take a nap instead. I was pretty tired at that conversation with Gazzy had drained me a bit.

I closed my eyes and dreamed of flying.

I woke up at exactly 2:49 in full on panic mode. Fang was gonna be here in 11 minutes. Literally. He lives right next door so he's obviously going to be punctual.

Despite our argument, things fell back into place with Fang and I. It wasn't awkward or anything. Today we decided to go to the carnival.

And now I was rummaging through my closet. I pulled out my black skinny jeans and a Rolling Stones Tour of America shirt. I slipped into that and put on my trusty white converse. I braided my hair quickly and rushed downstairs.

At exactly 3:01, Fang came a-knockin on my door.

"Hey." Fang greeted when I opened the door. He was wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Took you long enough." I teased. He rolled his eyes and smiled.

Once we arrived at the carnival, Fang and I played various games. We played the classic knock-down-all-the-bottles game, which was pretty easy, if you knew where to aim.

"Two games, please." Fang had said. He handed the worker $10 and received six plastic balls in exchange.

He gave me 3 of them and with perfect aim, we both knocked down the bottles with one throw.

"Uh…" the carnie mumbled, "choose anythin' from the top row."

And the top row happened to hold all the cute, oversized stuffed animals.

I chose a large puppy and Fang chose a black bird thingy, which he silently handed to me.

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"For you." He said quietly. I grinned and took the bird from his hands. It was soft and it would make an excellent addition to the stuffed animals I held on to when I slept.

"Aw, Fang! Thanks!" I said and I threw an arm around him, as my other one was holding the heavy stuffed animals. He hugged me back awkwardly and chuckled.

"I think I'll name it...drumroll, please…FANG!" I said. He rolled his eyes and we spent the rest of the day playing games and eating our weight in cotton candy. Fun.

When we were back in the car, he asked me if I was hungry and I responded with my world-famous 'duh' face.

He rolled his eyes and drove us to the nearest McDonalds.

Once we had ordered and were seated on a booth, Fang said, "So, Romeo and Juliet, huh?"

"Ugh, tell me about it. Who the heck signed us up for the play anyway?" I wondered. Fang moved his hair out of his eye and stared at me levelly.

"I don't know, but I'm kinda glad they did." He replied. I didn't have to ask why to know the reason.

"Same here. But _lead_ roles? Really?"

"I know. Talk about pressure. I say we get everyone to audition. They can share out suffering." Fang said with a half smile.

I grinned. "Ah, yes. We must inflict our fate upon the others!"

We laughed and I noticed how pretty Fang's laugh was. It was kind of musical.

"Your order is ready, number 17! Order 17!" The person at the register called.

I shot up. "I'll get it."

Before Fang could protest, I shot up and went to go get our food. I sat back down with the tray on the table and grabbed all the food that belonged to me and began to eat. I was super hungry, despite eating a year's worth of cotton candy.

"You don't hold back, do you?" Fang chuckled.

"Nope." I answered while shoving more fries in my mouth. "Just because you're a guy doesn't mean I'm going to deprive myself of eating as much as I want."

Fang took my words in with a thoughtful look on his face and said, "If only there were more girls in the world like you, Maximum Ride."

That night, I told Jess that I promised she would help write the script for the play and she took it pretty well, I had to say.

Also, when I told mom, she laughed and said, "I know you can do it, honey. You'll be the best Juliet the world has ever seen."

"Thanks, mom." I grinned.

We were sitting in the kitchen because mom was in the process of making gifts from heaven, also known as chocolate chip cookies.

"So, who is Romeo?" She asked curiously. I was surprised Ella, Nudge or Gazzy hadn't told her.

"Fang." I replied.

She grinned and before she could ask the dreaded question I said, "We're just friends, mom."

"I know!" She said defensively. "I was going to ask when you two made up."

So I told her about us getting signed up for the play and our duet. She awed at all the right parts and laughed when I told her about how ridiculous Mrs. Evans is.

Today was a great day and I felt happier than I have in a long time.

**Woooooooooooow, so this chapter didn't exist before but I thought it would be cute to have a lil fax in it :D**


	9. Chapter 9

MPOV

"Yo." I greeted my friends while setting my plate down. Everyone offered some form of acknowledgement and continued to eat. Fang, on the other hand, grinned at me. Which caught me by surprise, since you know, he's Mr. Emotionless 99.9% of the time.

I looked up at my people and took in the usual sight. Iggy, Gazzy and Jess were all arguing about something, Ella and Nudge were discussing whether skater skirts were in this season, and Kassy had Marcus and Remi wrapped around her finger.

"Hey." I said to Fang. Instead of replying, he quirked an eyebrow, which irritates me to no end, mostly because I can't do it.

"Let's force them all to be in the play." I whispered to him. Fang smirked and nodded.

"So, guys." I began. Immediately, everyone looked over to me. Yeah, being the leader had that effect.

"As you all know, someone signed up Fang and I for the play," I said, ignoring Gazzy and Iggy's snickers, "and, since we have to go through the ordeal, I want all of you to audition too."

Nudge frowned. "But, Max! Ella and I were planning on joining costume design. And you know how hectic our soccer schedule is."

"That's okay." I replied.

Nudge and Ella high-fived.

"But _you_ two, " I said pointed at Iggy and Gazzy, "have to try out."

"What?!" They complained in unison.

"You heard me."

Jess laughed. "I can already see it! They'd be the perfect Mercutio and Benvolio."

"They would, actually." Fang agreed.

"Settled then." I said with a satisfied smirk.

The rest of the group didn't need much persuading and Jess was already writing the alternate ending to the script, so she was off the hook.

"Oh my God!" Nudge suddenly squealed. "You'll never guess who joined choir."

For some reason, I found myself mildly interested so I asked, "Who?"

"Dylan!"

I rolled my eyes and Fang asked, "Dylan? The blond guy who always follows you around?"

So, Fang had noticed. Dylan didn't follow me around like a stalker. He more like caught up to me every time he saw me in the hallway and tried to make conversation.

"Yes. He likes me for some reason." I grumbled.

"He must be blind." Fang teased.

"Yeah, blinded by my beauty." I retorted.

"More like lack of."

"You're just jealous because no one likes you."

Before Fang could reply, Nudge said, "Guys! Let me continue!"

Fang and I grumbled out, "Fine" and proceeded to elbow each other.

"He has the voice of an angel!" Nudge squealed out. Ella nodded in agreement and I fought the urge to gag.

"I bet I can sing better than him." Gazzy challenged.

"You know that's not fair! You can, like, imitate Justin Bieber's voice." Nudge whined.

"Or he could imitate someone good like Alex Turner." Jess contradicted. Gazzy then began to play with her hair, something he's liked to do since we were twelve.

"Whatever! But who knew he was such a good singer! He's so perfect."

"Too perfect, if you ask me." I replied, taking a bite out of my burger.

"What do you mean?" Fang asked, intrigued. We had stopped elbowing each other a while ago.

"Well, for starters, he's extremely good looking, I can't deny that. Second, he has perfect grades-"

"Hey, they can't be that perfect if I'm still top of our class." Jess chimed. Kassy rolled her eyes at that but chose not to comment, as her sister _was_ the top student in the junior class.

"Okay, and he's also really good at soccer, he's super nice-" Nudge picked up.

"I have him for home economics and he makes a mean quesadilla." Jess added.

"Well, I think being that perfect is unnatural. He seems like a try hard to me." I responded. "I don't care if he likes me; he's not the guy for me."

"And who might the guy for you be, Max?" Ella giggled, which made Nudge giggle too.

"Leonardo DiCaprio." I replied, deadpanned.

Fang snorted and continued to eat his lunch.

"Aw, c'mon Max! You've got to like someone!" Nudge whined.

"I do like someone though. Two guys, actually."

At this, everyone at my table stopped talking and looked at me expectantly.

"Who?" Kassy said, eyeing Marcus and Remi.

"Ben and Jerry." I revealed dramatically and everyone except Nudge, Ella and Kassy snorted.


	10. Chapter 10

MPOV

Loud rock music (chosen by Jess) was playing in my room as Ella, Nudge, Kassy and Jess argued.

We decided we needed to have a sleepover, since we had not had one in a while. I wish I could've invited Fang and the others, but Ella flipped out when I suggested they stay over too.

"Don't you get it, Max? It's a sleepover! We're supposed to talk about the boys here! And we can't talk about them if they're here to hear us!" Ella had said impatiently.

Geez.

"All I'm saying," Jessica commented, "is that we've watched Titanic at least ten times already. Watching it over and over won't change the ending."

"You're so insensitive! What if we just want to relive Jack and Rose's love story?" Kassy argued.

"I say we take a vote." Ella said, taking charge.

They mumbled their okay's and I couldn't help but to roll my eyes. Instead of listening to their banter, I texted Fang.

_To: Fang_

_Save me. _

Almost immediately, he texted me back.

_From: Fang_

_I'm going to assume you're being dramatic because you would never ask me to save you :p_

I smiled a little because he knew me so well.

_To: Fang_

_You got that right. What are you up to?_

_From: Fang_

_Nothing. I'm sitting in my room._

Before I could reply, Ella snatched my phone from my hands. "No phones, Maximum!"

"Don't call me Maximum, Ella." I said, trying to get my phone back. She put it in her pocket and smiled.

"This is a sleepover, Max. We're gonna have fun." Ella declared.

"Oh, goody."

"C'mon, Max! We're not that bad!" Kassandra said with a laugh.

"I know, Max! We're all like, best friends! I bet everyone is jealous of our friendship! Loads of people come up to me and ask, 'Hey, are you friends with Maximum Ride?' and I get to reply, 'No, I'm her sister and her best friend!' Well, maybe not your best friend. That's either Gazzy, Jess or Fang! Fang! Ooooh, everyone likes him. I heard these girls in my homeroom talking about how they wanted to date him! And I was like, 'Nuh uh. He belongs to Max-"

"Uh, hold up Nudge. Fang does not belong to me. Those girls can talk about dating him all they want." I interrupted. What the heck? Fang and I? Never in a million years.

"Max, I'm sorry to tell you this but literally everyone ships you two." Jess said, looking up from her book. I guess she lost the movie vote, because she was now reading a fat book.

"Ships us? What's that?" I asked, bewildered.

"Y'know, when people want you to be together. Like I ship Rose and the Doctor so hard it hurts." Jess explained.

"Doctor? What on earth…"

"Doctor Who. It's a British TV show that Jess is obsessed with. A bit too nerdy for me." Kassandra explained airly.

"But yeah, that's shipping!" Ella said. "For example, I ship Jess and Gazzy."

"ZOMG! Yes! I thought I was the only one! They are so perfect for each other. Jess, you guys should date and get married and have little Jazzy babies! That's your ship name, Jazzy!" Nudge rumbled.

Jessica wore a horrified expression so I said, "Okay, no one is having Jazzy babies. They're just friends. They way Fang and I are just friends."

"But, Maaaaaaaax! Iggy says that Fang never opens up to people so quickly. I ship you guys so hard! The moment you guys met, you instantly clicked! Fax! It's a combination of Max and Fang!" Ella argued.

"So? That doesn't mean anything. Back me up, Jess." I begged while Nudge squealed about how hard she shipped 'Fax'. Out of Kassandra, Nudge and Jess, I knew Jessica had my back.

"Yeah, guys. Fang has really opened up to me too. That doesn't mean we're soul mates or anything. Max and I are just cooler than you guys." Jessica said, walking over to my side.

"They just don't get it, do they Jess?" I sighed dramatically.

"Our level of awesome is just too much for them to bear. This might sound a bit audacious, but you guys are lame." Jessica smirked.

"Fang only talks to cool people." I concluded.

Kassandra was rolling her eyes while Ella and Nudge stared at us in disbelief.

"You guys are so mean!" Ella pouted.

"Yeah! We are totally not lame! We're like, the coolest! We're like, cooler than cool. In fact, people need to put on sweaters when we're around because we're so freaking cool! And-"

"Alright, Elsa. You're cool. But you're not Max and Jess cool."

"Can we watch the movie now?" Kassandra groaned, obviously tired of the conversation.

"Go ahead and start it. Jess and I are gonna get snacks!" I chirped. They nodded and we walked out and went downstairs. Jess propped herself up on the counter while I made popcorn and took out some drinks.

"So. Tell me the truth. Do people actually think Fang and I have a thing?" I asked nervously. I don't know why I was giving this so much thought. Obviously, Fang and I are really good friends. And I have to admit; he's pretty good looking too. But do I like _like_ him?

"Well, yeah." Jess shrugged. "You guys trying out for the play only added fuel to the fire."

"We still need to find out who signed us up for that freaking play." I growled. Obviously whoever did it was trying to ridicule us, but they failed.

"I know. But look on the bright side, the play made you and Fang make up. And I like Fang. He likes the same bands as I do." Jess pointed out.

"Don't say that in front of the others. They might think you mean it romantically and start shipping you with him." I warned her jokingly.

"Nah. They ship 'Fax' more." She replied.

"Oh yeah. Plus, they want you to have Jazzy babies." I snorted.

At that moment, Gazzy walked in.

"Who is having jazzy babies?" He asked, walking over to the fridge. I snickered at Jess's distressed and panicked expression.

"Um, people who enjoy jazz?" Jess replied.

His blue eyes glittered with amusement as he studied Jess.

"Hm. You would probably have punk rock babies." He told her, running his hand through his hair.

"And they will be the most punk rockiest babies the world has ever seen." I added.

Gazzy laughed and walked out of the room, taking about half of the fridge's contents with him.

"Oh god. That was so embarrassing." Jess blushed.

I laughed and she flicked me off.

"Let's go back upstairs." I said, grabbing the snacks.

"Maybe they'll let us watch something cool, like American Horror Story." Jess said hopefully.

"Maybe." I said, though I doubted it.

I spent the remainder of the night watching movies with the girls and wondering how exactly I felt about Fang.

**A/N: I got four reviews, which was 4 more than I was expecting! Thank you guys so much for reading my story. It honestly means a lot. What do you guys think? Should I put less Jess and Kassy? I feel like people don't like them that much lol. And what about Jazzy? Should Jazzy go cannon? Tell me what you think! Please be sure to review so I know people are reading! Love y'all xx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! Quick note before we get started.**

**Can everyone keep in mind that I was about 12 when I wrote chapters 1-9? I had a severe cringe attack when I read over it and I am still attempting to recover. I understand that some of you might want me to edit those chapters and if you really **_**really **_**want me to, I will but it will take a long time. I feel that if I try to edit them, I will completely change them. If you feel as though 1-9 desperately need to be edited, please tell me in a review. **

**And no one really said anything about Jazzy, so I looked through some old reviews and saw a few people wanted them to be together soooooooo **

**Also, I don't really know why I chose Romeo and Juliet as the play they have to perform. Initially, I was going to make them do High School Musical but I have a feeling the characters would some how come to life and murder me for making them go through the ordeal.**

**So anyway, here's chapter 11.**

FPOV

"Dude, I swear. If I have to sit through another math lesson, I will off myself." Iggy groaned. We somehow survived a long and uneventful lesson of math and were now sitting in the cafeteria, waiting for the rest of our friends to arrive.

"I know what you mean." I replied. While I tried not to be one of those kids who complained about their lessons and hated school, math really was not my cup of tea. Why would I need to find the circumference of a circle in the real world?

"Hiya!" Ella chirped as she sat down next to Iggy. She took out her lunch and began to eat.

"Hey, Ells." Iggy greeted her. She smiled and continued to eat.

Just when I was about to ask where Max was, she plopped down next to me.

"Hello, humans." She said dramatically.

"Hi." I said with a small smile. Today, Max had her long hair in a complicated looking braid thing and was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. I don't know why, but I saw her. I mean, _really_ saw her. She is beautiful.

My trance was broken by Kassandra sitting down next to Ella, tears streaming down her face.

"Kassy? What's wrong?" Ella asked, trying to wipe Kassandra's tears. Max and I exchanged a confused glance then made the universal "I don't know" gesture at each other. Max looked like she wanted to laugh, but realized that would probably offend Kassandra.

"M-Marcus and Remi are moving!" She wailed.

"Moving? Both of them?" Max asked, extremely confused.

"T-they signed up for the exchange program to go to Australia and they got chosen!" Kassandra cried again. She put her head down while Ella muttered comforting words.

"The hell?" Max whispered to me.

"Australia?" I said back.

Ella led Kassandra out of the lunchroom, leaving Max, Iggy and I extremely confused.

Before we could properly express our bewilderment, Jess and Gazzy sat down, both humming.

"What's up?" Gazzy asked, grabbing the apple sitting on Ella's plate.

"Yeah, what's going on? You guys look deeply disturbed." Jess laughed. Lately, she seemed happier and I was glad. I could tell that she was going through a lot of issues.

"Well, apparently Marcus and Remi are going to the Australia exchange thingumabob." Iggy brilliantly said.

"Such a way with words." I muttered under my breath. Max heard me and shot me a small smile.

"Really?" Gazzy laughed.

"We thought they weren't going to be accepted. You need to have a 4.0 for that." Jess informed us while chuckling.

"Wait, when did they even sign up for it?" Max asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Beginning of the year, I reckon." Jess shrugged, grabbing the pack of almonds that were in Ella's backpack.

"Well, Kassandra is a mess." Iggy said. We all turned to look at Jessica to see what she would say, but she didn't show any emotion.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll get over it. People come and go, she ought to know that since we move around so much." Jess said nonchalantly, munching away on her almonds. She looked thoughtful.

"Aren't you upset, though? I thought you and Remi had a thing." Iggy asked. Gazzy chuckled and continued eating his apple.

"What?" Jess asked in disbelief.

"Didn't you like him?" Iggy asked. Now we were all looking at her. Max raised her eyebrows and Jess and Gazzy nudged her side.

"Not really. I mean, I thought I did. But I realized he was a waste of my time." She admitted.

"What about Marcus? Didn't he like you?" Iggy asked, his blue eyes trying to feign innocence. I wondered where he got all this information from, and then I realized he was friends with Nudge.

"Not that I know of. What is this? An interrogation?" Jess said indignantly before getting up and walking away.

"Then we were four." Max said.

"This is all so dramatic." Gazzy sighed, resting his head on the table.

"Tell me about it." I replied. I didn't really mind Marcus and Remi leaving since I hardly talked to them. They were not really people I could call friends. It's like, I wouldn't invite them to my house, but I don't want them to die.

"It's like a freaking soap opera man." Max said, beginning to eat her lunch.

"Oh, hey Max. Track try-outs are today." Gazzy said brightly.

Max perked up and grinned. "I know! I can't wait."

"You run track?" I asked. I knew she used to box and such but she hardly mentioned track.

"Yeah." Max said happily through a mouthful of cookies.

"Cool." I nodded and returned to eating my lunch. For the rest of the period, I listened to my friends argue over random things.

"It's pronounced toe-mate-toe. Who the hell says toe-mot-toe?"

"Uh, I do!"

"Well, then you're stupid."

"You're stupider!"

"Stupider isn't even a word. You just proved your stupidity!"

And so on.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. I grabbed my things and walked with Max to our next class.

"Y'know, I'm having the sudden urge to consume all the frozen yoghurt in the planet." Max said randomly, looking up at me.

"That's a lot of yoghurt. You'll probably get the runs." I commented. She laughed and smacked me playfully on the arm.

"Gross! But I haven't had yoghurt in a while and I am feeling very much deprived." She sighed.

"Well, maybe we can all go get some yoghurt after your tryout." I suggested.

Before Max could respond, a girl giggled out, "Hi Fang!"

I nodded in her direction and she giggled again.

Max rolled her eyes and imitated the girl, "Hiiii Fangy!"

"She did not say Fangy." I scoffed.

"She should've. It would have been funnier."

Instead of responding, I bumped her with my shoulder. She pushed me right back and laughed.

It was a beautiful sound.

Jess's POV

"How many secrets can you keep? 'Cause there's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow and I play it on repeat." I sang along to the music blaring from my laptop.

When school ended today, I was waiting in for Kassandra in the car. She never came, so I texted her, asking where she was. She told me that she was talking to the consoler and that she would catch a ride with someone else.

So now I was at home, listening to the Arctic Monkeys while trying to finish my homework. I wanted to hang out with Max, but she had track tryouts today. I felt kind of left out since I'm not good at track, but oh well.

I decided to text Gazzy to see what he was up to.

_To: Gazzy_

_Hellooooooo xx_

_From: Gazzy_

_Why do british people put the little x at the end of everything_

I rolled my eyes.

_To: Gazzy_

_Why don't Americans do it?_

_From: Gazzy_

_Because we're cool_

_To: Gazzy_

_Nuh uh. Brits are cooler_

_From: Gazzy_

_In your dreams, Cole._

_To: Gazzy_

_Thank you for encouraging my dreams. You are the definition of a true friend_

_From: Gazzy_

_Thanks I try _

_To: Gazzy_

_I'm bored_

_From: Gazzy_

_Hi bored I'm Gazzy_

_To: Gazzy_

_No you're zephyr _

_From: Gazzy_

_DO NOT SPEAK THE FORBIDDEN NAME_

_To: Gazzy_

_Uh, but I didn't say Voldemort. I said Zephyr_

_From: Gazzy_

_Okay, that's the other forbidden name. _

_To: Gazzy_

_You're such a poophead _

_From: Gazzy_

_You're a bigger poophead_

_To: Gazzy_

_You're the biggest poophead_

_From: Gazzy_

_You're like the queen poophead your crown is made of poop_

_To: Gazzy_

_Boooooooo D: you're the king poophead _

_From: Gazzy_

_I'm going to your house poophead_

_To: Gazzy_

_Okay, poopbrain_

After that exciting childish banter, I put my phone to charge and waited for Gazzy to get here.

It was strange. Ever since Fang got here, Max has been spending more time with him than with Gazzy. As a result, Gazzy and I were much closer than we were pre-Fang.

Which is cool.

Sometimes, I felt closer to Max and Gazzy then I did to my own sister. We used to be best friends, but when she met Marcus and Remi, she changed.

I laid down on my bed and just thought. Does your brain ever do that thing where you let it wander off on its own and it decides to make you relive your worst memories? Mine is doing that right now.

When I was younger, I was sad and overweight. Naturally, that made me an easy target and I was bullied throughout primary school. Kassandra was in a different class, so I had to fend for myself.

I wish I could've been the type of person to just brush off negative comments. Instead, I let them get to me and cried every night. No one even noticed.

No one noticed how I stopped eating for a while, either.

No one ever notices the scars on my wrists. No one except Fang did, anyway.

Gazzy bursting into the room interrupted my dark thoughts.

"YO, COLE!"

"Salutations, young Gazzy."

"I'm older than you, therefore I am your Sempai." Gazzy declared. I got up from my bed and laughed.

"No, young Gazzy. You are my mesu inu."

"Why do I get the feeling that you just called me your bitch?"

"Because I just did." I replied.

Gazzy let out an offended gasp. "How dare you snub your Sempai so atrociously?"

"My Sempai is a poophead, therefore I am permitted to insult him." I retorted. I ran downstairs before he could respond but he followed me. We walked into the kitchen where my mom was typing away on her laptop.

The front door was opened then shut abruptly, signaling that Kassy had made it home safetly. She ran into the kitchen, her face flushed but excited.

"Hey-" Gazzy began to say but was interrupted by Kassandra shrieking.

"Mom! Guess what! I was accepted into the Australian exchange program!"

**A/N: Tell me what you think! Also, would y'all prefer shorter chapters and faster updates or longer chapters and slower updates? This was 8 pages on Word, and I consider it a medium length update. A short one would be about 4 pages and a long one would be about 12! Also, how old are you guys? And more importantly, DO YOU WATCH DOCTOR WHO?**

**Please review, it makes me happy and also let's me know what I've got to change.**

**P.S A very warm hello to peanut-butter-mouse! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello everyone! I was so happy to read y'alls reviews :D I was feeling pretty down in my architecture class when my phone started vibrating and sure enough, I was receiving emails from fanfiction about the reviews.**

**AJ: Thank you so much! Your review made me smile. I probably will do longer chapters and slower updates. And hurray! Jazzy!**

**Bookworm of gallifrey: Yayyyy! A fellow whovian! And I am also between the age of 0 to 1000. Who is your favorite Doctor?**

** .52: Yes! An author is notified when you follow their story! :D**

**shiipitlikeFedEx: omgggg your review made me laugh **

**DripsofRed: I totally know what you mean! I enjoy writing Jess's character. She is very complex and emotionally unstable, which reminds me a bit of myself. I don't really like Kassy, Remi or Marcus, though. Shipping them off to Australia is a great way to get rid of them. *****Spoiler*******

**One more thing before I start! I am beginning to rewrite chapters 1-9! I posted the new and improved chapter 1 yesterday, and I will slowly but surely work my way up to 9!**

MPOV

"I'm going to ingest the entire contents of each and everyone of these frozen yoghurt machines." I moaned, while filling my cup up.

"You do that, Max." Iggy chuckled.

After a long and successful track tryout, Fang kept true to his word and took us all out for frozen yoghurt. Well, not all of us. It was Fang, Iggy, Ella, Nudge and yours truly.

"Where's Gazzy? And the twins?" Ella frowned. She was as found of Kassandra as I was of Jess. The sight of her crying completely upset her.

"I don't know. Apparently none of them possess the ability to pick up the phone." I replied while adding toppings to my yoghurt.

After we paid for the overpriced yoghurt, we all went to sit down in a huge booth. I was sandwiched between Fang and Iggy while Nudge and Ella sat across from us. At that moment, I felt closer to my sisters and friends than I ever had. I smiled and put my arms around Fang and Iggy.

"You guys are the bomb." I grinned.

"You're just saying that because we're funding your frozen yoghurt addiction." Fang teased.

"Fangy, you know that's not true." I laughed, unwrapping my arms from the brothers and eating my small piece of heaven.

"Fangy?" Ella smirked.

"ZOMG! That is so cute! Max has a little nickname for Fang! I've been talking to Kyle but he never gives me any cute nicknames! You guys have the ideal relation-"

"Nudge, as much as it hurts to tell you this, I was mocking Fang, not endearing him." I said, then explaining the girl who kind of cat called Fang.

At the end of my story, no one seemed surprised.

"You know, a lot of girls are like in love with Fang." Ella said, scooping yoghurt into her mouth.

Nudge then proceeded to retell the story about the two girls in her class who were scheming up ways to date Fang, only this time she left out the part of Fang belonging to me. Good girl.

Iggy and I were watching Fang to see what his reaction would be and as expected, he was as calm and expressionless as ever.

"Well, Fangles? How does that make you feel?" I asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"It makes me feel like I have multiple stalkers." He replied. Ella and Nudge broke into a fit of giggles while Iggy chuckled. Immediately, Nudge broke out in a rant.

"ZOMG Iggy, why are you laughing? There are tons of freshmen that have crushes on you too! Ella and I were sitting on the bleachers during gym and there were these girls in back of us and they wouldn't stop talking about you! What did they call him, Ells?"

"Igilicious." Ella provided helpfully while Iggy blushed and Fang and I snorted.

"YES! IGILICIOUS! And they were talking about your butt too!" Nudge told us excitedly. At this point, Iggy was probably regretting laughing at Fang.

Fang and I were howling with laughter, ignoring the distasteful looks we were receiving from the people surrounding us.

"Freaking freshmen." Iggy muttered under his breath, his face still scarlet. I couldn't help but to burst out in laughter again.

Once we were done with our yoghurt, we decided to drive home. Fang and Iggy had finally gotten a car, so Fang was a little less moody than usual.

"Why do you get to drive?" Iggy grumbled. He nearly bit my head off when I said I was riding shotgun.

"Because, Igiot, I'm older." Fang answered.

"So? I'm smarter!" Iggy complained. He was pouting with his arms crossed, essentially making him look 5 years old.

"Only in school. In the real world, I'm cleverer." Fang said.

Fang's hair was poking over the top of his seat and I was battling the urge to run my fingers through it.

Wait, what?

Why would I want to run my fingers through Fang's hair? And what was up with the sudden jolt of butterflies I felt when I would catch him looking at me?

I knew I had to play down these strange feelings because if anything non-platonic happened between us, it would surely ruin our friend circle.

I was broken away from my thoughts when I heard Nudge and Ella whispering viciously.

"I mean, I like him but do you think he would like me back?" Ella whispered, her tone secretive.

Nudge struggled to keep her voice down, though. "Ella! That is so cute! Of course he would like you back! Like, I never thought Kyle would ask me out but he did!"

"Who ya talkin' about, Ells?" I asked curiously. Usually when one of my younger sisters had a crush on a boy, they would talk my ear off.

"Uhm, I'll tell you later."

I frowned, but nodded anyway.

Today, tryouts went great. It was mostly conditioning to see who was in shape and who wasn't. The warm up mile we had to do was a piece of cake, and hardly anyone kept up with me.

Except for this one boy, Sam. As we were running, he began conversing with me and I was kind of impressed that he could talk so much while running without popping a lung.

"Hey, Max. I'm Sam." He had introduced himself. He had been running next to me since out first lap, but apparently he couldn't take the silence.

"Hello. And I know." I vaguely remember having him for one of my classes my freshmen year, but I never talked to him, due to my bad attitude towards everyone in that class. Who could blame me? It was algebra. Yuck.

"Oh. I thought you didn't remember." He laughed, hardly breaking a sweat.

Instead of responding, I just grinned a little and sped up. Unsurprisingly, he managed to match my pace.

"So, are you ready for all the conditioning?" Sam asked.

"Yup. I'm in pretty good shape." I replied, not taking my eyes of the track.

"I'll say." He laughed again. We ran the rest of the mile in silence, trying to out run one another at the end.

I slightly startled when I realized that I was in Fang's car and not on the track. He was parked outside my house, waiting for Nudge, Ella and I to get out.

"Thanks for the ride, guys!" Ella shouted hurriedly, while pushing Nudge out of the car.

"Yeah, thanks for the yoghurt!" I said while hopping out of the car.

"Bye, Max." Fang said through the window with a half smile.

"Bye, girls!" Iggy yelled. Without looking back, I ran inside, following my sisters.

Jess's POV

"Australia? When did you sign up?" My mum asked, crinkling her nose at Kassandra. I immediately knew she wasn't going to be persuaded easily.

Gazzy glanced at me sideways, trying to measure my reaction.

"Yeah, last time I heard, you were crying your eyes out because Marcus and Remi were leaving." I reminded her. She rolled her made up eyes at me and acted like she didn't notice mum's reluctance towards the subject.

"Anyway, I spoke to my counselor and she said that my grades were perfect and that the exchange would look excellent on my college applications!"

There she goes, playing the college card. I scoffed and Gazzy nudged my ribs. I nudged him right back and we continued like that for a while.

"Kassandra, you just can't expect me to let you go to the other side of the world on your own." Mum said curtly. She showed her disinterest by continuing to type on her computer.

"Mom, I won't be alone! Marcus and Remi are going! And so are several other people, along with selectively picked adults from the school board." Kassandra argued.

"Kassandra, even if I do say yes, you'll have to talk to your father. Jessica, stop trying to crack Zephyr's ribs."

Before I could whine about how Gazzy started it, he whispered, "She spoke the forbidden name."

I snorted and Kassandra glared at us, obviously upset that we seized mum's attention from her.

"So is that a yes from you, mum?" Kassandra asked hopefully.

Mum expelled a heavy sigh before saying, "I suppose."

Kassandra squealed and incoherently yelled something about packing her bags. Mum rolled her eyes before returning to her work.

Gazzy and I walked out to my backyard, where we began kicking a football. (Or soccer ball, depending where you're from.)

"Okay, go ahead." Gazzy said, while softly passing me the ball.

"What?"

"Go on. Rant."

"Ugh! I can't even deal with her right now! How can she decide to move to freaking _Australia_ just because the boys she likes are going? And she's been being so mean to me, like every little thing I do just ticks her off!" I gasped out, feeling a lot like Nudge.

Gazzy nodded. "Yep. I noticed that too. And she is kind of obsessed with Marcus and Remi."

"Kind of? She talks about them the way Nudge and Ella talk about Justin Bieber or One Direction!"

"Nice analogy." Gazzy chuckled, performing a perfect Maradona move on the ball.

"And she also makes me feel so bad about myself, like I've been wanting to do football but she tells me not to because people will laugh at me."

"Uh, Jess? I hate to tell you this but female football players are not really common at our school. There's only a guys team." Gazzy explained.

"I mean soccer, you dolt!"

"Ohhhhhhhh." Gazzy said, realization seeping onto his features.

"Gazzy, you're worst than Iggy sometimes."

"I am insulted!" Gazzy said, his tone full of mock hurt.

"You should be, that's why I said it."

"I know that's why you said it."

"Then why'd you act so surprised?"

"Because then you would be upset that your feeble insult hardly grazed my ego."

"Hey, Gazzy?"

"Yeah, Jess?"

"Thanks for listening to what I had to say. It feels nice to get that off my chest." I smiled, walking over to him and giving him a hug.

"No problem, Jess. What are friends for?"

**Gazzy just friendzoned Jess *****cries*******

**I hoped you all liked this chapter! Please review and fav! **

**What was your favorite part in this chapter or the previous one? I'm dying to know! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello everyone! **

**I was trying to finish my cereal super fast so I could update but then I choked D: not fun**

**Someone told me to get on with the Faxness, but if I did that, this story would be dramaless and bland! **

**A big thank you to everyone who reviewed! Your reviews keep me soooooooo happy! On with the chapter :D **

MPOV

"Wait, _what_?" Was my probably going to be my senior quote, since I said it so much.

Mrs. Evans sighed. "What now, Max?"

"Fang wishes he was a glove so he could touch my face?" I snickered, looking down at Fang. He rolled his eyes, but I caught a hint of a smile.

We were rehearsing the wretched play. Right now, we were going over the famous balcony scene, where Fang's character has an intense soliloquy and I have to try not to laugh.

This is actually our first rehearsal, and it didn't make much sense to me as to why we would start rehearsing Act two first, but Mrs. Evans wanted to see if we had the right chemistry and wouldn't ruin one of the most important scenes in the play.

Watching Fang talk and act so dramatically is quiet amusing. I thought he was going to be painfully awkward, but he was doing well so far. Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same thing about myself.

Everything seemed funny, and when something didn't make sense, I'd stop the scene, which was irritating Mrs. Evans and Jess to no end.

"Max, I love you and all, but can you shut up and read the freaking script?" Jess groaned. I felt kind of bad, considering she was pretty excited about the play. She said she kept the entire script the same, except the ending. She changed it so Romeo could receive Friar Lawrence's letter, hence preventing him and Juliet from their infamous deaths.

And get this. Since we had to audition with a song, Mrs. Evans wanted to make the play into "Romeo and Juliet: The Musical" but Jess threw a fit, saying how tacky that would be and that if we wanted a musical, we should watch a Disney movie.

Fang and I tried not to laugh. Tried.

So for Jess's sanity, I played my part and read my script.

It was actually coming out pretty well but this time, Mrs. Evans interrupted me.

"I still think it should be a musical." She grumbled to Jess stubbornly.

Jess rolled her eyes so hard I was afraid they might stay like that permanently. "What would they even sing? You're not going to write a whole musical."

"I guess you're right." Mrs. Evans sighed, a look of resignation taking over her features.

"Unless." Jess said suddenly. I looked down at Fang, who was listening to their conversation intently.

"Yes?" Mrs. Evans inquired, looking excited.

"'Check Yes Juliet' by We The Kings? At intermission, we could have Fang perform it!" Jess exclaimed.

"We can have Fang do what?" Fang asked, not looking very amused.

"The whole band!" Jess shouted gleefully, shooting up from her chair. She looked a bit crazy.

"What are you talking about, Jess?" I asked, stepping down from my makeshift balcony, which by the way is just a ladder.

"Our band, Max! Not me, obviously, since I'll be helping with directing. But everyone else! You guys can do Check Yes Juliet during intermission!"

"That's actually not a bad idea." I mused, looking over at Fang. He would have to sing, since he was Romeo. When I first met him, he told me he played guitar and sang a bit, but we never really thought of him joining the band. And with Marcus, Remi and Kassy leaving, it would only make sense to have him join.

"Jess, smooth over the details. Max and Fang! Keep on practicing! You are dismissed!" Mrs. Evans shouted while exiting the theater, obviously pleased that she might after all get her Disney movie.

FPOV 

"Hey Fang!" Angel chirped from in front of the television.

I was in the kitchen, trying to cook up a meal. I shouted back, "Yeah?"

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" Angel sing-songed. I let out a groan and continued scrambling my eggs.

Recently, like every other girl from the ages 4-18, Angel had taken a liking to the Disney movie Frozen. This meant she would be singing my ear off about snowmen, letting go, and how life would be in the summer.

"Yes, Ange, I would like to build a snowman, but unfortunately we live in Arizona, so there's not going to be any snow anytime soon." I tried to explain gently.

Even though we were in different rooms, I could practically feel Angel rolling her eyes at me and lack of imagination.

"Ughhhh, Fang! You're no fun!" She whined.

"Sorry." I called into the living room, as I successfully finished making my eggs and was now going upstairs to eat them.

I heard her mutter an irritated "whatever" before I reached my room and shut the door.

Iggy was hanging out with Gazzy, Max was at track, and as much as I like Nudge and Ella, I wasn't very keen on hearing more about the girls who apparently adored me.

So instead I read over my lines, trying to picture Max saying all of Juliet's lines. I snorted just thinking about it. I couldn't concentrate and I was extremely bored, so I decided to go out.

I never really go to the mall, but right now I was so bored and lonely that I went.

I walked around, looking for some decent store to wander about in when I saw every teenager's dream: Hot Topic.

I strolled in, after avoiding the annoying sales guy and began looking at the band t-shirts, most of which I already owned.

"Fang?" A familiar voice with a faint British accent said.

I turned around, surprised. "Jess?"

She was sitting behind the counter, fiddling with her hands. She was wearing an All Time Low shirt, another band that we both like.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, walking over to the counter and leaning against it.

"I work here." She said, gesturing to herself sitting in front of the cash register.

"Cool." I commented, really meaning it. Hot Topic is probably one of the stores I would like to work in if I had to get a job.

"I know!" Jess said excitedly, spinning around in her chair.

"Why aren't you like greeting people in the front though?" I asked, pointing over to the guy who bombards you when you come in. "You'd be less annoying."

"That's not what my boss thought." She grumbled. "Apparently I'm not charismatic enough."

I laughed, because it was true. Jess could come off a little hostile at times, but once you hung out with her, you got to see what a softie she actually was.

"So? Wanna hang here or are you getting some shopping done?" She asked, pointing to another stool beside her.

"Won't your boss get mad?" I questioned. I didn't want to get her in trouble, but I also didn't want to go home.

"Nope! He loves me. He thinks my accent makes people buy more Doctor Who stuff." She grinned. So I sat down next to her and we talked. She told me about Doctor Who and let me choose the music playing in the store, which was pretty awesome.

"Oh, hey! Max texted me!" Jess said suddenly. Then she frowned. "Aw, c'mon! She's rain checking on me!"

Jess showed me the message and I felt my heart drop.

_Can't hang tonight. Sam asked me on a date!_

"Sam? Who's Sam?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Sam! You know, floppy brown hair, hazel eyes. Track star. I think he's auditioning for our play. Oh! Speaking of which…"

But I tuned her out. Max? On a date with Sam? I just couldn't process it.

Then again, why should it matter so much to me? Max is my best friend. Emphasis on _friend_.

Then I realized that's why it mattered so much. Because we're best friends and I obviously have to know the guy she's dating so I could make sure he wouldn't break her heart. Right?

Yeah. That was it.

**I hope you all liked the chapter! It was kind of filler, except for the ending. Omgggggg. Did you all like it?**

**Oh and by the way, a lot of new people are reading this story, so I decided to post this chapter and continue to edit the earlier chapters, which still embarrass me immensely. **

**Ahhhhh, this is kind of personal but I have to tell someone. The boy I like texted me today :D **

**Review please! I'd love to hear your hear thoughts and recommendations. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the wait, guys! Here's Max and Sam's date :D**

MPOV

I was on full on panic mode.

_What was I doing?_

Oh, right. I was on a date with Sam. Sam, who happened to be the best runner on the boy's track team. Sam, the guy who a bunch of girls drooled over.

And he had asked me out.

I had emerged from the girls' locker room and was on my way to my car, when he stopped me. He had just taken a shower, so his hair was wet and sticking up, which made him look cuter, by the way. His hazel colored eyes shifted from me to his car nervously. Then he blurted out, "Uh, hey. I was wondering if you wanted to go catch a movie with me?"

At first I was reluctant, but then I thought, what the hell? I already had plans with Jess, but I brightly replied, "Sure!"

So we agreed on driving to the movies in our own cars and then we would meet there.

I felt excited, but that the same time it felt wrong. Sam was a nice guy, but I wasn't sure if he was the one for me.

Once I arrived to the theater, I got off my car and quickly scanned the area for Sam. He was waiting for me by the ticket booth, smiling. I walked over to him and grinned. "So, what are we watching?" 

"Whatever you want." He offered.

"Nah, you can choose."

"Alright." He agreed. I frowned. If he were Fang, we would've gotten in a big argument about who was going to pay. I quickly shook these thoughts out of my head. He was Sam, not Fang.

Sam paid for the tickets, and I tried my best not to look annoyed. We went inside, and I insisted on paying for the snacks. Sam reluctantly obliged.

"I'm really glad you said yes to me." Sam commented as we sat down in the theater. I wiped my hands on my jeans, hoping they weren't sweating.

"Y-yeah. Me too."

I was grateful when the lights dimmed down and the movie began.

Throughout the film, I felt Sam sneaking glances at me and I tried to bite down my smile. I suddenly remembered that I had plans with Jess, so I texted her quickly, explaining my situation. I shut off my phone after that.

After two hours, the lights turned back on and Sam was chatting excitedly about the movie.

"Wow, I can't believe that's how the movie ended. Talk about a cliffhanger!" He exclaimed. We walked out the theater and to the parking lot to find our cars.

I wanted to point out how he could find out what happens if he read the next book, something Jess constantly says, but instead I said, "I know! We definitely need to see the next one!"

Sam beamed at me and I realized I just set us up on another date. I didn't know how I felt about that. Sam was nice and he liked me. What was so wrong about that? And I liked the way he looked when he ran, I like the way he didn't slow down for me in warm ups, I liked the way his hair looked in the sun and how soft his eyes got when he looked at me.

"Hey," he said suddenly, "wanna go get ice cream?"

"Sure." I agreed. Then we drove off, the same way we did to get to the theater, to the nearest Dairy Queen.

"So are you doing anything over Spring Break?" Sam asked as we slipped into a booth, eating our Blizzards.

"I'm not sure. I wanted to go to the beach or something." I replied honestly.

"Cool. I'm going to Virginia to visit my cousins." He told me, not sounding very enthusiastic.

"You don't sound too happy about it." I laughed.

"Well, my younger cousins are going to be a total pain in the ass, my Uncle Tom is going to be hogging the TV, and I'll have to room with an obnoxious 12 year old. So, nope, I'm not exactly bursting with joy." He laughed.

"Doesn't sound like paradise city." I agreed. We ate in silence for a little while, and it got a bit awkward.

"So," Sam asked suddenly, "what's with you and Fang?"

"What about me and Fang?" I asked, confused.

"You guys don't have anything going on?" He asked nervously.

Geez. What was with every one thinking Fang and I liked each other? I mean, I liked him as my friend; he's like my brother. But in a boyfriend way? That's kind of weird.

"Uh, no? We're just best friends. Nothing more, nothing less." I replied, finishing off my ice cream. I turned my phone back on and it buzzed, with a message from Jess.

_From: Jess_

_Boooooooo, you suck. Have fun .xx ;)_

Attached to the message there was a picture of her and Fang. She was pouting dramatically and he was just staring at the camera with the same, guarded expression I've come to know.

He had probably gone to Hot Topic and found her there.

I smiled at the picture and then wondered why Fang looked so serious. I shook off the thought, reminding myself that Fang never smiled in pictures, no matter how many times we tried to coax him to.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked, concerned. I decided I liked him.

"No. I'm fine." I smiled. Then he took my hand and my heart fluttered. That's when I knew I was falling.

Sam insisted on driving me home after we were done with our ice cream. It was late out, and he wanted to make sure I got home all right.

So I drove home and he drove behind me. It seemed kind of chivalrous to me, but I didn't really mind.

I parked my car and hopped off. I turned around to wave at Sam, but was startled to find him getting off of his car. He walked over to me and smiled. "I just wanted to walk you to the door."

"Cool." I nodded and we walked up slowly towards the door. Once we were there, I turned around and smiled. "I had fun tonight."

And I did. At first I was a little annoyed with the whole paying situation at the movies, but after that we had a great time.

"So did I." He grinned. His smile faded and he looked nervous, as though he was contemplating something.

"I wanna try something…" He murmured as he leaned closer to me. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine and we were kissing.

Fireworks. Butterflies.

I was flying.

FPOV

Jessica had finished her shift and we called Gazzy and Iggy to come get food with us. They happily agreed, saying that they were planning to anyway.

"I hate you guys." Jess whined. She wanted pizza but we all out-voted her and went to go get Chinese food.

We were in my car right now. Mom had dropped off Iggy and Gazzy at the mall, where we met up and decided to go get food. I was driving and Iggy was in the passenger's seat. Which left Gaz and Jess in the backseat.

"No you don't! You love us!" Gazzy said cheerfully, wrapping his arms around Jess. Instead of groaning and telling him to get lost, she leaned into him and laughed. Gazzy looked a bit surprised about it, but kept his arms around her anyway.

"Yo, Fang. What's wrong, man?" Iggy asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We're brothers. I can tell when something is wrong." Iggy said sternly.

"Well, nothing's wrong. I'm just a little tired, is all." I replied, parking the car. The lot was reasonably empty, which pleased me greatly since I detested crowded places.

We all hopped out of the car and walked into the restaurant. Once we all ordered, we sat down in an empty booth and talked. Well, everyone else talked while I listened.

I was trying not to drown in my thoughts. Max was with Sam right now. What were they doing? Max didn't elaborate. Was Sam making her laugh, the way I did? Was he holding her hand, the way I did when I could tell she felt nervous? And, was he appreciating her company?

Truthfully, Max had changed me. Back in California, I was just some quiet emo kid who liked to draw and play guitar. Sure, I had friends and a girlfriend, but none of it ever seemed important.

When I met Max, she was curious about my interests, she empathized with me, and most of all she cared. She had just met me, but she cared.

Then, of course, I messed up with the whole Lissa thing. But Max and I eventually found our way back to each other.

Max.

I thought about how her eyes crinkled up when she was laughing so hard. I thought about her no-nonsense attitude, her tough exterior and how that all went away when someone she cared about was hurt, or Angel was showing her a drawing she had done. And the more I thought about her, the more I felt my heart flutter.

"Helloooooooooo? Earth to Fang?"

I snapped back into reality when Iggy snapped his fingers at my face.

"It looked like you were having an intense epiphany, dude." Jess commented. Gazzy and Iggy chortled, while I rolled my eyes.

"Your order is ready." The person at the counter called. Iggy and Gazzy shot up and went to go get our food.

"It's Max, isn't it?" Jess asked softly.

I nodded mutely, not trusting myself to form the words.

**Hello everyone! This chapter was long overdue! I've had a pretty hectic week, since I'm taking EOCs on Monday and my teachers have been giving intense amounts of homework! **

**SO, a bunch of you wanted Fax, and sadly, I could not comply. I couldn't ignore the Fax requests though, so I gave you a one-sided Fax thingy. **

**Also, I was looking through some old reviews and apparently I'm copying another fic because this is AU? A lot of fan fictions are AU, and honestly, I made an AU fan fic because I feel like the characters already go through so much in the actual series and I just wanted to give them some good ol' teenage drama. **

**Shiipitlikefedex: eeeep! He's so perfect. He likes Doctor Who, the same anime as I do and he's in fandoms. He's taller than me, which makes me happy since I'm about 5'9, and I like looking up to see his face. He has black hair and green eyes. I think I just described Percy Jackson, lol!**

**Oh, and someone was confused about the twins? In what way? Please keep in mind that I'm editing the previous chapters, so some things might not add up. **

**Please review! I'm trying my hardest to finish editing while writing new chapters and it's a bit challenging. **

**xx. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello everyone :D I'm sorry if you don't like Death Note, by the way. Death Note is my favorite manga/anime of all time and I make Max and Fang discuss it because I can.*evil laughter*. I tried not to add any spoilers in case some of you haven't watched it yet.**

MPOV

"Max." Fang said quietly.

I ignored him and continued to stare.

"Max." He repeated.

Silence.

"MAAAAAX!"

"They're beautiful!" I gushed.

Okay, rewind.

Fang and I are at the Nike store and on display, there are these beautiful running shoes. Nike Flying Knitkit Air Max, the shoe is called. And it truly is beautiful. They're grey with purple and blue lines drizzling down the sides and when I picked them up they were as light as a feather.

The only downside?

They were 215 freaking dollars!

Fang groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. Even though he was acting like he was annoyed, I knew he understood. He'll never tell you this, but he was literally fangirling over some soccer cleats a few minutes ago.

"Ugh. I can't afford these." I sighed. Had we gone to the Nike store first instead of Under Armour, then I would be walking out of this store with the shoes in my hands and a smile on my face.

Fang frowned and inspected the shoes.

Then, my phone buzzed with a text from Ella, saying that it was time to go.

"We gotta go, Fang." I said. He nodded and walked out the store with a thoughtful expression.

His face broke out in realization and he exclaimed, "Shit, I forgot my phone!"

And with that he ran back into the store, leaving me outside.

Fang and I decided to go shopping for new sports equipment, since the shoes I used for track were getting worn out and he needed new cleats for the Club Soccer team he was joining.

He had found some at Under Armour and bought them immediately. They were black and red, with the Under Armour logo in gold. They were pretty nice I had to admit. I wasn't really a soccer player; I preferred to watch instead of playing. So Fang could count on me cheering him on.

About five minutes later, Fang returned stuffing his phone in his pocket. "Found it."

"C'mon! I'm starved. Let's go find the others so we can go eat." I instructed. Fang rolled his eyes but followed my lead.

Lately, Fang had been acting a bit different. I don't know what it was, but he seemed to be calculating his words more carefully and seemed more guarded.

I had told him about my date with Sam, of course, since we are best friends. He didn't really seem to mind, but he did say he wanted to meet Sam, which was understandable.

"Max! Over here!" Ella waved me over. She was standing with Iggy and Nudge, who were having a heated whispering contest.

"Hey guys." I greeted when we reached them.

"Where's Angel?" Fang asked Iggy, a frown etching on his face.

"Relax, dude. She's with Gazzy and Jess."

Ah, yes. When Fang and I told our parents that we had to go shopping, suddenly everyone else had to go shopping too. Gazzy told Jess, and now her mom was here too. It wasn't a bad thing, though. We rode more comfortably and I didn't have to worry so much about driving safely.

"Doing what?" Fang asked curiously.

"They're at the Disney store! Can we go there and then go eat?" Nudge asked mom, who had just walked up with Danielle (Fang's mom) and Rose (Jess's mom).

"Sure." They all said in unison. It was kind of funny.

So we walked off to the Disney store, while Fang and I debated Death Note, one of the anime we watched together the other day.

"I still think Light had the right idea." I grumbled.

"He was a murderer, Max." Fang said. I rolled my eyes. Was that his only argument?

"That might be so, but he was justice. He wanted a world free of bad guys." I explained.

"Again, he wasn't justice. He was a murderer. I understand what you mean, though. But what if he just went after the uncatchable criminals? Not the ones who were in correction centers already. Light was just power hungry; he wanted to be a god."

"You're just pissed because of L." I scoffed. We were almost at the Disney store.

"Don't you dare bring up L! That wound is still fresh!" Fang defended.

"It's been eight years!" I exclaimed.

"MOM, they're doing it again!" Ella whined. I guess Fang and I must've been talking kind of loud, because a lot of people were staring at us.

"Max, Fang, stop fighting over fictional characters." Mom said. Everyone chuckled.

Fang and I shared a look that clearly said, _they don't understand._

We walked into the store and searched for Gazzy, Angel and Jess through the crowd of kids. We spotted Gazzy and our large group walked over to him.

"Hello." Gazzy chirped.

"Where's Angel?" Fang asked. If I haven't said this before, then I'll say it now. Fang loves Angel so much. He worries about her constantly and if that doesn't pull your heartstrings then I don't know what to say to you.

"She's trying on wigs with Jess."

Sure enough, ten seconds later, Rose screeched out, "Jessica Arabella Cole! What are you wearing?"

And Jessica Arabella Cole was wearing a blonde wig, identical to the one Angel was wearing.

And Angel looked absolutely adorable. She was dressed as the Ice Queen, Elsa. She was wearing the blue dress and wearing the wig.

"Mom, I'm Elsa." Jess grumbled. Gazzy snorted and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"I'm Elsa too!" Angel exclaimed, throwing herself at Fang's arms. He picked her up and said, "Yep. And you're a better Elsa than Jess."

Jess shot him the bird when she thought our parents weren't looking.

"It can be like in the movie! You and Max can be my mommy and daddy because you guys are in love and-"

Fang's eyes widened and I'm pretty sure my expression was identical. Again, why do people think Fang and I are romantically involved?

"-but you guys won't die and I'll build us all a big ice castle where we can all live and it will be so much fun! Oh, can we get ice cream, mommy?" Angel finished, looking at her mother. Fang handed her over to his mom and we walked around the store.

"So, we're gonna be her mommy and daddy?" Fang grinned so suddenly I almost forgot how to breathe. He rarely smiled so big, so I was always caught off guard when he did.

"Yeah. Which one are you?" I replied while picking up a Lotso bear.

Fang rolled his eyes. He seems to do that a lot.

He perked up suddenly, looking across the store. "Hey, is that Brigid Dwyer?"

I turned around and sure enough, it was. "Yep."

"Should we go say hi?"

I looked at him, deadpanned. Fang _never_ volunteered to talk to people. He was usually quiet among people who weren't in our group.

"Uh, why would we do that?" I inquired. Fang looked at me as if I had suddenly sprouted wings from my back.

"I don't know? Because she's nice and friendly?"

And with that, Fang stalked off to talk to Brigid.

I couldn't help but to feel annoyed. Why would he want to talk to her? It's not like she had anything interesting to say. As far as I knew, she was really good at science, but other than that, she was a bit of an airhead. Plus, she was a senior, so she was older than us.

I walked back to our group and tried my hardest not to look annoyed. Why was Fang so eager to talk to Brigid now?

Ella and Nudge were whispering now, something that they seemed to do a lot of nowadays. I approached them and said, "Alright, you two. Who's the guy?"

Because I knew my sisters better than anyone. And besides, Ella had mentioned liking a boy but she never told me who he was.

"Uh…" Nudge said, and for the first time ever she was at lost for words.

I raised my eyebrows and Ella whispered, "Okay. But promise you won't laugh."

I held out my pinkie and said, "Pinkie promise."

"Okay," Ella started nervously, "I think I might be developing a crush on Iggy."

I felt my jaw drop and whipped around to look at Iggy, who was standing with Gazzy trying not to look suspicious.

"_Iggy?"_

Ella nodded and Nudge squealed. "This is all so cute! Don't ya think they would be cute together, Max?"

"Who would be cute together?" Fang said suddenly and I nearly jumped ten feet.

"Ugh!" I groaned, punching his arm.

"What was that for?!" Fang said, punching my arm right back.

"Stop sneaking up on me!"

Fang gave me a tiny smile and began to text someone on his phone.

FPOV

Brigid Dwyer was truly amazing.

I don't exactly know why I approached her. Because these newfound feelings for Max were eating me alive and if I didn't get over her soon I was going to explode?

Probably.

But Brigid was nice to me and she was smart, too. Not to mention she was a senior. How cool was that?

So when I approached her, our conversation went something like this:

Brigid: Hi, Fang.

Me: Hello, Brigid.

Brigid: What brings you to the Disney store?

Me: My little sister.

Brigid: (laughed) Same here. Say, do you want to hang out sometime?

Me: Sure.

Brigid: Cool, give me your number.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I got Brigid's number, because after I walked away she texted me.

I liked that Brigid was to the point and didn't hide that she liked me. That way, things were easier and I didn't have to rip out my hair, wondering if she liked me or not.

Maybe I could get over this tiny crush on Max if I hung out with Brigid for a while.

MPOV

Once we were out of the Disney store (Angel got the Elsa costume and Jess got the wig) we went out for dinner. We decided to go to a buffet, because that could satisfy all of our appetites.

Once we were settled down and eating, Fang's phone kept on vibrating and it was annoying the heck out of me so I snatched it from his hands.

"Hey!" He protested, trying to get his phone back.

My eyes widened when I saw who he was texting.

You guessed it.

Brigid.

**Hi everyone! I'm posting this chapter even though I updated yesterday because I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again. **

**Also, a bunch of you mentioned the friendzone.**

**I, alas, am also friendzoned. That super amazing guy I was telling y'all about? He has a girlfriend. So let's all wallow in self-pity together while eating myriads of ice cream tubs.**

**Who is your favorite member of the flock? Personally, the Gasman is my favorite because he's so lively and clever. In my opinion, he seemed a little too grown up to be 8, so that's why I made him older.**

**And do any of y'all watch Death Note?**

**Please review! It's the reviews that motivate me to write. I currently have 136 reviews and hitting 150 would be huge milestone for me :D**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello everyone! I have some good news!**

**I FINALLY FINISHED UPDATING ALL THE CHAPTERS! BRING OUT THE PIÑATAS AND THE POPTARTS! :D I recommend you go back and reread 1-9. They are much more improved and I even added a few Faxish moments in there for you guys :D**

MPOV

"Iggy! Gazzy! Stop playing around!" Jess called from her director's chair. That's right, director's chair. Mrs. Evans had promoted her to her co-director and right now, Jess was in charge. We were all on stage and Iggy and Gaz were goofing off.

Gazzy snickered and said, "Is Iggy going to have to wear tights?"

"I'm going to make sure _you're_ the one wearing tights, Zephyr Ride!" Jess called. "All right, get off the stage. Sampson and Gregory, start the first scene off if you please!"

The two freshmen that auditioned for Sampson and Gregory walked on stage and started the scene.

"Man, remind me not to get on her bad side." Fang whispered to me. I laughed and said, "You should watch her while she watches soccer."

We were now in the dressing rooms, with the doors open so we could hear what was going on. Fang and I weren't going on for a while, so we could chill.

"Man, she's so moody!" Gazzy whined.

"I know. You'd think she'd be in a better mood now that her sister and the guys are gone." Iggy grumbled back. Fang and I rolled our eyes but didn't comment. I was about to start a conversation with Fang, but his phone vibrated and he immediately took it out to respond.

"Oooooooooh, who ya textin?" Gazzy asked curiously, peering over Fang's shoulder.

"No one." Fang murmured, but it was too late.

"'Brigid heart emoji!' Fang, who is this Brigid Heart Emoji girl?" Gazzy demanded.

""Brigid Heart Emoji' as in Brigid Dwyer?" Iggy gasped.

"Yep." Fang said awkwardly. Normally, I would've been teasing him about his blush right now, but I couldn't find the heart to.

"Insanely _hot_ senior Brigid Dwyer?" Iggy asked in disbelief.

Fang nodded again, but this time with a slight smirk on his face.

"You guys are pigs." I said in disgust, getting up from the table I was sitting on and walking over to the door to hear what was going on.

"Hey, you're one to talk! I'm pretty sure I heard you having an hour long conversation about Sam's calves with Nudge and Ella!" Gazzy shouted.

Now it was _my_ turn to blush. "You're such a liar! I merely mentioned it! Nudge and Ella were the ones who kept the conversation going for such a long time!"

Fang snorted and I whipped around to look at him.

"At least I don't drool over Ms. Amazing's photos on Instagram like you do!" I growled. That's right. I caught Fang stalking Brigid on Instagram, which irritated me, but amused me.

Again, what was with the sudden interest in Brigid? I knew she had Fang for study hall, but that was it. Were those forty-five minutes a day enough time for them to get cozy?

Not that it mattered. One of the girls on the track team, Liz, told me that she heard from her boyfriend's friend, who happened to be in Sam's group of friend's, was going to ask me to be his girlfriend. I was nervous as heck for track practice today, but I was going to say yes if he actually did ask.

"I'm glad you don't, Max. That would be very disturbing." Fang replied dryly, which caused Iggy and Gazzy to snort.

I was about to threaten the wellbeing of their reproductive organs, but Jess screamed out, "Benvolio, where in the _bloody hell are you!?"_

Gazzy groaned out, "Ughhhhhhh" and went on stage.

"Part fools! Put up your swords; you not know what you do." We heard Gazzy yell at the two freshmen.

"So, what's really going on between you and Brigid?" Iggy asked his brother curiously. It had been a few weeks after the Disney Store Incident, and since then, Fang's been kind of distant with us. He was either with Brigid or doing homework.

Fang looked at me quickly and back to his brother. "Nothing, we're just hanging out to see if we like each other."

"Well, you obviously like her. And she definitely likes you, so what are you waiting for?" I said. Even though I didn't like Brigid and I felt like a beast was ripping my intestines apart when I saw her with Fang, I wanted Fang to be happy. And if Ms. Amazing made Fang happy, then I would just have to put up with it.

"Should I ask her out?" Fang asked me doubtfully.

"Duh!" Iggy and I said at the same time. Before Fang could reply, Jess called out, "Fang!"

"Well, that's my cue." He said while getting up. He walked on stage and began to talk to Gazzy about how he was in love with someone who would never love him back.

Hm.

"Alright, girls! Do your regular warm-up. And try not to go so slow." Our coach snapped at us. Geez.

The boys' coach had just given similar instructions, so they set off with us.

Without even turning around, I could tell Sam was next to me. "Hello, Sam."

"Hiya, Max!" Sam said cheerfully. I gave him a sideways glance and saw his face was contorted with nervousness. Oh shit. He was going to ask me!

I feigned innocence and asked, "Why do you look so nervous? Afraid I'm gonna beat your time?"

"Ha-ha. But… uh, can I ask you something?" Sam asked, his hazel eyes shifting from me to his friends.

"Ask away, Sammy-boy." I replied, speeding up a little.

"Uhm… Okay… Max, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, his tone shy.

I grinned and said, "Of course I will! Finally!"

And right there, in the middle of track practice, he kissed me.

FPOV

"You can do this, you can do this." I repeated my mantra over and over in my head. I was currently outside of Brigid's house. I was going to heed Max's advice and just ask her out.

While I hang out with Brigid, I realize that I hardly think about Max. I don't know why I got so depressed when I heard about her and Sam, but I was all right now. Max was solely my best friend. Sure she was pretty, but I guess we aren't just meant for each other.

I knocked on Brigid's door, holding my breath. About thirty seconds later, Brigid opened the door with a confused look on her face.

"Hi, Fang! Did we have a date or something? Oh, no! Let me get-"

"No, Brigid, we didn't have a date. I, uh, actually came to ask you something." I stammered awkwardly.

"Oh!" She brightened. Her beautiful red hair was flowing down to her shoulders and her bright green eyes were trained on me. "What is it?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"OMG, Fang yes! It took you long enough!" She squealed out. Then she pressed her lips onto mine.

**Ugh, I hate not writing Fax! But sadly, there's going to be more chapters like this. I was rereading the MR books and in The Final Warning, it says Brigid has blonde hair, but in MAX, Max says she had red hair. I was pretty confused, so I made Brigid a redhead.**

**SINCE WE ALL KNOW HOW MUCH FANG **_**LOVES **_**REDHEADS.**

**CodeBlue19: thank you so much for your review! I highly recommend you watch Death Note so you can have avid conversations with your friend! And I doubt they'll break up anytime soon D: I guess I'll just have to get over him **

**FreeFallAngel: Fang's sense of humor is definitely something I love about him! And thank you for reading my story, I love getting reviews like yours :D**

**shiipitlikeFedEx: No, that's what gets me mad! She pretends to like Doctor Who, though. It really annoys me **

**Bookworm2011: Thanks, pal!**

**TheKookieKing11: Haha! Sorry! Frozen is for any gender of any age! I was just making Fang grumpy.**

**Please tell me what you thought in a review! Reviews make me so so happy! I'm only nine reviews away from 150 and it would mean a lot if each and every one of you reviewed. Even if it's just 'loved' or 'hated' hah!**

**Don't hurt my feelings, though. I cry easily.**

**REVIEWWWWWWWW **

**:D**


	17. Chapter 17

**I'M SO EXCITED I GOT THE 150 REVIEWS LET'S HAVE A PARTAAAAAAAAY :D **

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I have a pretty low self esteem and when I see that people approve of something I'm doing, it makes my heart tremble.  
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Ella POV

"C'mon! You said you wanted to try out!" I whined as I dragged Jess out of my mom's van. Nudge was hot on our heels, texting away.

"I changed my mind!" Jessica screeched. I would've told her she sounded ridiculous, but everything she says sounds cool due to her accent.

"C'mon dear. You can do this! Your mom told me you used to be an excellent player!" Mom encouraged Jess. That was something I liked about my mom; she loved our friends like they were her own.

"That was when I was like eleven!" Jess protested. We were already by the field, and I handed Jess her new goalie gloves.

That's right, goalie gloves. Jess was trying out to be the goalie for Nudge and I's team, since our old goalie had moved away.

"I still don't know why anyone would choose to be a goalie! Isn't it, like, scary having balls kicked at you?" Nudge asked Jess. Jess looked like she was about to be sick.

Unfortunately, Gazzy and Max couldn't be here for support. Gazzy was at basketball practice with Iggy, and Max was on a date with her boyfriend.

I wanted to giggle just thinking about it.

Even though I totally support Max's choice, I still think she should be with Fang. Then again, maybe I just ship Fax too hard.

"Okay, I think I'm ready." Jess breathed.

Nudged laughed and said, "C'mon! Let's introduce you to coach."

Our coach, Anne Walker, was terrifying. Okay, she was really nice, except on conditioning days and game days. Game days, I can understand, but could she give us a break with all the conditioning? Was she trying to kill us?

Anne walked (haha) up to Jess with her hand out. "Hi, I'm Anne Walker. I presume you are Jessica Cole?"

Jess nodded and Anne gave her a once over.

"Okay, you're tall and you have long legs, so you can probably reach over the goal post. When was the last time you played, dear?"

"Uh, five years ago?" Jess answered hesitantly.

"Oh." Anne said, sounding disappointed.

"Well, sometimes I play with Gazzy." Jess revealed. So not fair! Gazzy never played with us.

"Well, let's see how you do."

And she did uh-may-zing!

She stopped nearly all of our goals! Coach even tried to score on her, but she stopped it by literally diving to her left and somehow extending her arms enough to catch the ball.

"Okay, you're in." Anne said with a satisfied smile. "Practices run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. From 6:00 to 8:00."

"Be there or be square." I whispered to Nudge. Nudge giggled and grinned at Jess.

"You are just going to _adore_ Wednesday practices."

Anne gave us a wicked smile, which left me wondering if I was going to be able to move my legs after that practice.

After we dropped Jess off at her house, mom drove us back home. Once I was back in my room, Nudge burst in.

"Okay, we _so _need to get you and Iggy together!" She exclaimed.

"Shh! Not so loud!" I said, looking around my room as though Iggy was going to magically appear.

"Stop being silly, Ells! We need to get down to business!" Nudge chirped, and sat down on my bed. Nudge and I might as well share rooms from how often we're in each other's rooms. I think its super cool how my sister is my best friend.

"Oh, alright." I sighed. "But I heard him telling Gazzy that he thought Tess was cute!"

"Ells, she might be cute, but you're beautiful!" Nudge gushed. "You just have to let him know you're interested."

"But how? I don't want to come off as desperate!"

"You just have to have to play it cool! They way I do with Kyle."

"Ooooooh, speaking of…" I squealed, wriggling my eyebrows at Nudge.

Nudge immediately broke out on a rant about how Kyle and she were going to last forever and ever.

I laughed and hugged my sister.

MPOV

"Bye, Sam!" I called out. He was dropping me off at my house after our date, which was perfect. I couldn't believe I barely noticed Sam before.

Just as I was about to walk into my house, I heard Fang's voice call out, "Yo!"

I turned around and grinned at him. "What's up, Fangles?"

He was walking over to me, crossing the lawn with his long strides until we were right next to each other. "Mom is inviting you guys over to dinner. She feels bad because we're always over here and your mom is constantly feeding us."

"Cool." I nodded. "Come in and tell my mom, though."

Fang nodded and we both walked inside.

"Mom!" I shouted. "Fang wants to talk to you!"

My mom shouted something along the lines of "I'll be right there!" back.

"So…" Fang started.

"Sooooooo….." I repeated.

"Where were you just now?" He asked, suddenly. I felt myself blush and looked away from him.

"Oh, I was with Sam."

"Oh, cool. Y'know, I still haven't met him." Fang reminded me. I, unfortunately, had the pleasure of meeting Brigid, as I was over at Fang's house the other day hanging with Iggy when Fang and Brigid walked in giggling.

I know! Fang! Giggling! How is the world still intact? Is this a sign of the apocalypse?

Because Fang either laughs like a donkey or he doesn't laugh at all. My best friend does _not_ giggle.

"Oh, right. I'll ask him to sit with us at lunch on Monday." I promised. To be honest, I was kind of putting off having Fang meet Sam. I don't know what I was afraid of; that my best friend wouldn't approve of him, or that Sam would hate that I'm best friends with someone as attractive as Fang.

Okay, forget I said that.

Fang nodded but didn't meet my eyes. Before I could comment, my mom came downstairs. She was sniffling.

"Are you okay, mom?" I asked her, engulfing her in a hug.

"Yeah, I'm fine dear. I was just reading a sad book." She replied. I decided not to push it, since Fang was here and I didn't want to cause a scene.

"Uh, okay. Fang…" I nudged him. He nudged me back and said, "Hi, Ms. Martinez. My mom just wanted me to invite you guys over for dinner."

"Oh, that's lovely. Tell her we'll be there." My mom smiled. It didn't quiet reach her watery eyes. With that, she walked back upstairs and into her room, shutting the door silently.

Fang and I exchanged a look, but didn't comment. We already knew what the other was thinking: What the heck was that all about?

When we arrived over to Fang's house, Angel opened the door.

"Hi, Max! I missed you! You hardly come over anymore." Angel shouted as she leaped into my arms.

I laughed. "Hi, sweetie! I missed you too."

I placed a kiss on her forehead and set her down. I couldn't exactly tell her that I couldn't hang at her house so much because of Brigid.

I was about to ask where Fang was, but I felt someone behind me and I jumped up.

"Ugh! Fang stop it!" I groaned, smacking his chest.

"It's not my fault you're so ignorant about your surroundings." Fang retorted.

"Yeah, well it's not my fault you're freaking invisible!"

"Well, maybe you're just blind."

"Well, maybe you just go out of your way to make me think I'm blind!"

"Wow, you're blind _and_ dumb." Fang snorted. Before I could retort, Danielle laughed and said, "You two argue like an old married couple."

I snorted. "Grandpa Fang."

Angel giggled at that and said, "Fang is my grandpa!"

Fang looked like he wanted to drop kick me to Africa. I laughed and said, "Fang is all of our grandpas!"

Iggy and Gazzy whooped at that, while Ella and Nudge laughed. Our moms were probably shaking their heads in disappointment, wondering where they went wrong with us.

"Sorry, Max, but Fang can't be your grandpa." Angel smiled apologetically. "It would be weird if you guys were married and he was your grandpa."

I laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. "Ange, Fang and I aren't getting married. Fang has a girlfriend, whom he loves very much."

"And Max has a boyfriend who _she_ loves very much." Fang added. At that, Angel's face fell.

"But…but… I want you two to love each other!" Angel snapped.

"So do we!" Nudge and Ella chimed.

I felt my face get hot but I rolled my eyes. "Sweetie, Fang and I do love each other. He's like my brother."

Angel looked at me in disbelief, but decided to drop it.

"So… who wants dinner?" Danielle said awkwardly.

"Me!" Us kids chanted.

We began to eat the lasagna Danielle had brought out for us and I almost cried since it was so good.

Forget Sam. My heart belongs to this lasagna.

"So, guys, how's the play going?" My mom asked suddenly. Iggy and Gazzy exchanged groans and my mom grinned.

If I hadn't seen her fighting off tears, I would've doubted she'd been crying at all. Her hair was straightened, her outfit and makeup were impeccable, as always, and her whole demeanor was cheerful.

She raised her eyebrows at Fang and I, expecting a real answer.

"Good." We both replied, stuffing our faces with lasagna and break sticks.

"Rose was just telling me how Jess was getting grey hairs since the play is stressing her out so much." Danielle chuckled.

"Because she's a perfectionist!" Gazzy said exasperated. "I love her and all, but-"

"Oooooooooh, Gazzy loves Jess!" Ella giggled to Nudge.

"Jazzy's going cannon!" Nudge replied happily.

"What's a Jazzy? And a cannon?" Mom asked, bewildered.

"Hey! I love her like a friend!" Gazzy exclaimed, his face flushed.

Ella and Nudge ignored him and began to explain the fine art of shipping, which resulting in our moms to giggle.

"In that case, I ship myself with Robert Downey Jr." My mom whispered to Danielle. They both giggled and I gagged.

"I, for one, ship myself with this lasagna." I said, voicing my previous thoughts. Iggy snickered and called me Garfield and I pretended to stretch, but in reality I smacked him in the back of the head.

"What about Sam?" Fang asked, amused.

"Forget Sam!" I said to him. I picked up my plate and gazed at it. "I want to be with _you._"

Fang snorted and we both began to laugh uncontrollably.

"So, have you guys rehearsed the kissing scene yet?" Danielle asked Fang and I with a small smirk.

Immediately, our laughter faded and we stared at her with wide eyes.

"_Kissing scene?" _I screeched out.

Fang rolled his eyes. "Have you ever read Romeo and Juliet?"

"Uh, no! I thought they just killed themselves together!" I replied. And it was true, because I broke my leg freshman year, the time where we were reviewing the play.

"It's not even a big deal." Fang rolled his eyes. By this time, everyone was clearing their plates and going back to the kitchen for dessert.

"It kind of is." I insisted. Fang and I kiss! No way! I mean, Fang's lips do look super soft and plump and-

"Why is it a big deal? We hold hands all the time." Fang wondered.

"We don't hold hands all the time! Only when one of us is nervous or something." I argued.

"Then you must be nervous all the time because you always hold my hand." Fang smirked.

"Ugh!" I spit and walked over to the kitchen to get dessert.

I would have to talk to Jess about the kissing scene. I wouldn't want to fall in love with Fang or anything.

I chuckled at the thought.

**Angel knows what we want. **

***tribal chant*******

**WE WANT FAX. WE WANT FAX. WE WANT FAX.**

**Ugh! But stupid Sam and Brigid!**

**Any guesses as to why Dr. Martinez was crying? **

**And how will Jess react to Max's request about not kissing Fang? KEEP IN MIND THAT SHE SHIPS FAX TOO :DDD**

**Book worm of gallifrey: Ugh, same here! Brigid got me so mad! But she does make Max jealous, and I guess that sort of led to the kiss in MAX so…**

**Hodaya itshakov: I was literally already brainstorming for a new fan fic. It was going to like take place in an asylum but I'll put that idea away and solely write this fic :D**

**Codeblue19: I know I was so sad when I made Max and Sam official. And Brigid and Fang. Ugh.**

**I'm watching Ouran Highschool Host Club and it's pretty funny! I'm also reading the manga and I'm hooked. Does anyone else watch/read it? And if you do, PLEASE tell me you ship Haruhi and Tamaki!**

**Please review, I love you guys loads! .xx**

**P.S. Maybe if we get to 160 reviews, I'll update faster… ;D**

**P.P.S: THE NEXT CHAPTER IS WHEN SAM AND FANG MEET **


	18. Chapter 18

**A big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I'm typing this chapter in a hurry so I'm not going to be able to respond to reviews D: But please know that I read them all and some of you had really good guesses as to why Dr. Martinez was crying, but no one was quite on point. Things are going to get a bit more sad and darker, and if that bothers you guys then I'll be sure not to go in that direction. But in all honesty I think it'll play a significant part in getting Fax to go cannon in the story. Anyway, here's the chapter :D**

"Hey guys." Fang greeted as he plopped down on his seat. He took out the packed lunch his mom always packs him and began to eat his Doritos. I couldn't help but notice how good he looked today. He was wearing a Beatles shirt, blue jeans and white converse. His hair looked slightly messy and windblown.

"Hi Fang." Everyone except me chimed back in unison. Fang looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

"What's with the thoughtful look, Max?" Fang asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just, you know, thinking." I replied and Ella and Nudge giggled. I rolled my eyes and didn't bother asking why they were so excited.

They were excited because what they called 'The Great Confrontation' was happening today. Like in five minutes.

And the said 'Great Confrontation' was happening between Fang and my boyfriend.

I scarfed down my lunch while everyone chattered happily. I was on my third chocolate chip cookie when suddenly a pair of hands covered my eyes.

"Guess who?" Sam said cheerfully. That, of course, made Nudge and Ella giggle. If Sam's hands hadn't been covering my eyes, I'd probably roll them. I smiled and replied, "Um, Evan Peters?"

Sam removed his hands from my face and I turned around to face him. He was wearing a playful pout on his face when he said, "I'm hotter than Evan Peters though, right?"

Before I could reply, Jess let out a snort. I turned around to glare at her but she and Gazzy were too busy chuckling to notice. I noticed that Fang had a small smirk on his lips but I ignored it.

Sam sat down on my other side, so I was sandwiched in between him and Fang.

Fang looked at me expectantly, so I nudged Sam. He looked up and glanced at Fang.

I could feel the anticipation of our whole table radiating thickly in the air. I know my friends aren't exactly Team Sam, but could they make it a little less obvious?

"Hi. I'm Sam, Max's boyfriend." Sam said to Fang across from me while holding out his hand.

Fang stared at his hand for a few seconds before shaking it and saying, "Hi, I'm Fang. Max's best friend."

Sam was staring at Fang levelly and it seemed to me like they were shaking hands a little harder than necessary.

"Yo, Fang, don't break the dude's fingers!" Iggy said to his brother. Gazzy and Jess snorted again and I swear Nudge and Ella giggled.

"Whoops," Fang said apologetically, releasing Sam's hand from his, "sorry, man. I've got a strong grip."

I could tell Sam was trying not to wince when he said, "It's all cool."

I looked at both of them and it suddenly hit me how different they were.

Sam always wore pressed Polo shirts or button ups with khakis or wrinkle free jeans. His hair was always perfectly groomed, except during track practice. Sam listened to top 25 hits. He never argued with me.

Fang, on the other hand, was always dressed in a scruffy punk rocker sort of way. He was always wearing band t-shirts, jeans, Converse or Vans. His hair was messy, yet it worked for him. Fang has amazing taste in music and doesn't let anyone forget it. And our arguments. How could I forget those? We always found something to argue about, whether which show to watch next or who was going to pay for the movie. With Fang, I realized, I felt more… alive.

"Hello! Earth to Max!" Sam waved a hand in front of my face.

"Oops, sorry." I said remorsefully.

Sam laughed and asked, "Hey do you want to go the library? I got to finish some homework and I don't want to be alone."

I looked at my friends before saying, "Alright."

I got up and began to leave, but Fang grabbed my wrist.

"Hey, we hardly hang out anymore. Promise me we'll hang out today?" Fang asked while looking deeply into my eyes. Usually I could tell what he was thinking by just looking at his eyes, but right now, I felt weird. I tore my gaze away from his and said, "Sure."

FPOV

"So, Fang, whatcha think about Sam?" Ella asked me once he and Max had gone.

"He's an ass." I replied without missing a beat. I pulled out my sandwich and began to eat it. I could feel everyone's eyes on me so I looked up with an annoyed expression.

"Uh, Fang? Care to explain how exactly he's an ass?" Gazzy asked me with a quizzical look on his face. I could tell he was trying not to smirk so he looked away from me and began to play with a strand of Jess's hair.

"Yeah, Fang. How was he an ass? He was nothing but polite to you. Even though you tried to cut off the circulation from his hand." Iggy snorted. I glared at my brother and he blinked innocently.

How could they all be so blind? That Sam guy was such a phony. I can't believe Max is with someone like him. Why would she choose a freaking preppy jock? His stupid Polo and sweater vest. I didn't look at his feet but I'd bet my life savings that he was wearing loafers.

I rolled my eyes and said, "It's not my fault you guys aren't as perceptive as I am."

"Hey, we're all rooting for you, man." Jess said. The others nodded in agreement while I stared at all of them in bewilderment.

"Rooting for me to do what?" I asked. They all let out exasperated sighs and looked at me like I was an idiot.

Oh.

"Guys, it's not like that. I have a girlfriend and I love her." I declared. And it was true, I did love Brigid. She was good at science and cared about the environment. She always wears her hair straight and dresses in skirts or sundresses. Despite her not having a sense of humor like mine, I still had a pretty good time with her.

Nudge was about to start arguing but Jess interrupted, "Hey, don't worry about it guys. If it's meant to be, then it'll happen."

The others didn't seem to be too happy about that but they didn't comment. We continued to eat lunch and I seethed about Sam silently.

I hated him.

"Alright, Fangles. Where are we going?" Max asked from the passenger's seat. Keeping true to her word, she came to hang out with me. It had been Angel, out of all people, who pointed out that we hardly hung out anymore.

"We, my dear Max, are going bungee jumping." I replied, not taking my eyes off the road. She scoffed and didn't ask again.

When we pulled up to the bungee jumping place 45 minutes later, Max looked at me with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?"

"Am I ever anything but?" I asked, getting out of the car. Max followed in suit and stared at the building in awe.

We walked into the tall building and took in the atmosphere. It wasn't a hardcore type of thing like it would be outdoors, so it was a hundred percent safe. Unless your equipment broke or something. Then you were a goner,

We went to the info desk and paid for a session. Max was extremely excited and I was too.

"Fang I can't believe we're about to do this." Max whispered excitedly to me. We were on top of the ledge from where we were going to jump off and I turned around to smile at her.

"Ready?" The employee asked us as he attached the hooks on to our backs.

"Yep." I said. Without thinking, I took Max's hand in mine.

And we were falling.

"Bye Fang!" Max called out to me from the front of her house. I waved back as she walked inside.

That was so much fun. I was glad I was able to bring Max with me. Brigid wasn't as daring as Max was, so no way she would've done that with me.

Whenever I hear Max telling the others about her dates with Sam, I'm pretty sure I always catch the word 'movies' or 'dinner.' Is that all he can think of?

I walked into my house and into the kitchen to grab some Bagel Bites and some soda. A.K.A heaven.

I heard mom whispering to someone in the living room so I walked in curiously to see what was going on.

"Hey, mom I'm- Shit. Doctor Martinez, are you alright?" I asked walking over to her.

Mom and Max's mom were sitting on the couch. Dr. Martinez was crying on to my mom's shoulder relentlessly.

She looked up in surprise and wiped her eyes. "Oh, I'm fine, Fang. I'm just a little emotional, is all."

I wasn't buying it. Before I could say anything, Dr. Martinez got up and walked over to the door.

"Thanks for your company, Danielle. And Fang? I'd really appreciate you not mentioning this to Max. There's no need to burden her with trivial issues." She said as she walked out the door.

"Mom," I said softly as the door shut, "is she really okay?"

There was a long pause before my mom replied, "No, she's not."

**:D**

**Please review and tell me what you think what's going to happen next. Also, would you guys like me to list the music that reminds me of Fax? I listen to music while I type and it helps me get in the zone :D**

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	19. Chapter 19

MPOV

"Wait, cut!" I shouted out.

"Why is she calling a cut? Only _I _can yell out cut!" Jess asked Gazzy from her director's chair. Apparently, since Gazzy and Jess are besties, he doesn't have to wait backstage like everyone else and he can sit up front with her. Talk about unfair.

I walked to the downstage area and said, "Jess, we need to talk."

"Oh, no. Are you breaking up with me?" She asked dramatically.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Yeah, it isn't working out. But for real, though. I want to talk about this scene."

Jess sat up, looking at me in interest. "Could this have something to do with the long awaited kiss?"

Suddenly, Fang swooped in from the stage and was standing next to me. "Did someone say kiss?"

"That would've been me." I replied, trying to put distance between Fang and I. I was pretty annoyed with him. He _knew_ that even the thought of kissing him bothered me, but he continuously kept on saying that the only reason he stayed in the play was to kiss me.

Which, of course, is a total lie since he was in love with Brigid.

Fang only inched closer and said, "Kiss like 'I wanna rock n' roll all night' Kiss or kiss like making out kiss?"

I shoved him away and he laughed. "I'm only teasing, Max. I don't want to kiss you."

I don't know why, but I felt a little offended. Why didn't he want to kiss me? Was it because I didn't have red hair? Or I didn't go out with guys younger than me?

Before I could voice my thoughts, Jess said, "That's too bad, Fang. Because you _do _have to kiss her in this scene. Not once, but twice."

"WHAT?" I don't know who said it louder, Fang or me.

"You heard me." Jess replied. At this point, Mrs. Evans had hobbled over to us and sat in the chair next to Gazzy. "This isn't going to be some _bullshit_ play where they shake hands instead of kissing!"

I glanced at Mrs. Evans to see her reaction towards Jess's potty mouth, but get this she was actually _nodding along_.

"So you two can either suck it up and kiss or-"

"Okay, okay!" I raised my hands up in surrender. I mean, how bad could it be? It was just a kiss.

Thankfully, we rehearsal ended a few minutes later, and Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Ella, Gazzy, Jess and I were all walking home.

Why were we walking, you ask? Because my car decided to stop working and Fang's car was confiscated from him because apparently his mother caught him sneaking out. I wonder how she heard him, considering Fang makes no noise.

"I hate walking to places. I feel like a chav is going to come out of nowhere and beat me senseless." Jess muttered, while looking around. This street was pretty decent, so no one was going to beat her up.

"Chav?" Iggy asked her, with his eyebrows raised.

"It what you people call a _gangster._" Jess replied, putting on a phony American accent.

We continued to walk and Fang and I began to argue, as per usual. Our topic was Supernatural and John Winchester.

"John was a horrible father." I stated, not looking at Fang.

"How can you say that? He was the way he was because he was avenging Mary." Fang replied.

"ZOMG!" Nudge whispered. I looked at her then looked up curiously. Oh shit.

It was as though we were in some book and Jess saying how she was afraid she was going to get beat up was a form of foreshadowing. Because up ahead in the street were some gangsters.

The approached us silently. For a second, I thought they were going to leave us alone until one of them, probably the leader said, "Jose, Miguel, Juan, you guys grab the girls."

Three thugs came up and grabbed Nudge, Ella, Jess and I. One of them grabbed onto both Nudge and Ella, while Jess and I got a personal cholo. Yay.

"Get off me, you dickhead!" I thrashed. The guy holding me had my arms secured, so I couldn't beat the living daylights out of him. I looked at Nudge and Ella, who looked pale and frightened.

"Hey." Fang said. I probably haven't mentioned this before, but Fang looks scary when he's pissed. And when I say scary, I mean, 'if looks could kill' scary.

"What?" The gang leader spit. He snapped his fingers, and the remaining gang members grabbed Fang, Gazzy, and Iggy.

"You and your group are going to let us go. We haven't done anything to you." Fang said, his voice scary calm.

Before the gang leader could retort, Jess hissed to the guy holding her, "Would you _bloody_ stop breathing down my neck, you chav? And would it kill you to brush your teeth?"

"Yeah, you too, buttercup." I said to the guy holding me. "Your breath smells like week old tacos."

"Tell your bitches to be quiet or else." The gang leader ordered Fang.

Everyone shot Jess and I looks that clearly said, _Please shut up._

"Excuse me?" I scoffed. The guy holding me squeezed my arms back, causing me to yelp.

"Let her go!" Fang finally raised his voice. He was glaring at the leader, looking dangerous.

"Which one are you sweet on, man?" The leader said, looking amused. He walked over to Nudge and Ella, and stroked their faces. He walked over to Jess, but when he tried to stroke her cheek, she spit on his face.

"Urgh! You stupid bitch!" He said and slapped her across the face with so much vigor and strength, that the sound echoed.

"DON'T YOU DARE LAY YOUR HANDS ON MY GIRL, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Gazzy yelled out, thrashing. The guy holding him seemed to struggle.

The leader only laughed and walked over to me. Instead of stroking my face, he pressed his lips to my neck.

"GET OFF!" I yelled.

Before I could do anything, Fang yelled out, "You bastard."

He broke free and ran over to the gangster and me. Fang grabbed the guy by the collar and began to punch the guy's face relentlessly.

I wanted to scream. I hated being this helpless. The guys holding us didn't let us go. The guy who was holding Fang suddenly came out of nowhere and pulled Fang away from his leader. He held Fang back, and the gang leader began to leave blows on Fang's face.

"Don't." _BAM._

"Ever." _BAM._

"Cross."_ BAM._

"Us." _BAM._

"AGAIN!" The gangster delivered the final blow and the guy holding Fang dropped him. The gang ran, leaving us scared and confused.

I ran over to Fang and tears filled my eyes. Nothing, nothing could ever hurt me more than seeing Fang like this. His face was already beginning to bruise and was covered in blood.

I kneeled over and said, "Oh god, oh god, oh god!"

"I'll call an ambulance." Jess murmured, holding her cheek painfully. She walked off, speaking on her phone quietly.

"Fang?" I whispered.

"Wha?" He replied.

"How bad is it?" I asked. He looked horrible, so it had to be terrible.

"Pre'y bad." Fang winced. He tried to get up, but I held him down and said, "Don't move!"

Fang stood up to those guys, knowing this could've happened. He was trying to protect us and ended up getting hurt. Fang could've died, and that scared me to death. Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned down and kissed him.

When I pulled away, Fang and I stared at each other in shock.

"Ow." He winced again, bringing his fingers up to touch his split lip.

I looked up, my facing burning. The others were staring at me like the world had exploded.

"So," Jess said as she walked back to us, "what'd I miss?"

**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

**THIS WAS SO HARD TO WRITE BECAUSE I STARTED CRYING I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY? **

**FANG WAS BEING ALL MACHO AND IT HURT MAX TO SEE FANG IN PAIN I'M GOING TO EXPLODE**

**PLEASE REVIEW I REALLY WANNA POST THE NEXT CHAPTER ALREADY **

**BY THE WAY I'M REALLY BAD AT WRITING SCENES LIKE THESE SO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK **

**OKAY?**

**OKAY.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello everyone! I got about 15 reviews on the last chapter, so I decided to upload this today! **

3rd PERSON POV

The attendant working the front desk had never seen so many people pile in at once.

After a teenage boy had rushed into the hospital, a group of teenagers and three women followed in suit. They all took seats, filling up the whole row of chairs. The girls sat with the girls, the boys sat with the boys and the adults sat with the adults.

Maximum Ride, who was sandwiched in between two slightly over energetic girls, felt like her mind was going to explode.

Of course, she had always done a good job on concealing her emotions, so she looked completely at peace while she was having a mental breakdown. Why had she kissed Fang? The moment when she saw him lying there on the ground, something snapped in her.

She knew very well that the gangster could've killed Fang if he wanted to. She saw the gun resting on the waistband of his baggy jeans. Fang could've been dead. He could've died and left Max alone.

Max began to tear up. Fang dead, not breathing, not laughing, not singing, not teasing her, not taking her to do reckless things, Fang not being around was too much for her to bear.

Max ran her hands through her hair and looked up so suddenly it caused the attendant watching her to look up in alarm.

Max kept on staring at the empty space in front of her as she realized something she should've been aware of all along.

Max was in love with Fang.

JESS POV

"Geez, what does a girl have to do to get some ice around here?" I muttered to myself. My cheek was throbbing painfully, Gaz was avoiding me, and I wasn't going to interrupt Max during mid-epiphany.

It took Fang almost getting beaten to death to make her realize her feelings for him and that makes me question why I hang out with these people.

Max and Fang drive me insane. Sometimes, I just want to grab their heads and make them kiss because God knows they won't do it unless someone makes them.

I got up from my chair and walked over to my mum, who was comforting a crying Ms. Mercer with Dr. Martinez.

"Hello." I greeted. The women looked up at and all winced at the same time.

"Honey, that looks awful." My mum said sympathetically, referring to my face. Thanks mum, that's what every girl wants to hear.

"Terribly painful." Dr. Martinez, Valencia, said in agreement.

"And it's all my fault!" Fang's mom wailed.

"How so?" I inquired.

"I took Fang's car away! And I couldn't let Iggy use it because I knew he would drive Fang wherever he wanted to go, so neither of them could use it. If I hadn't done that, then you kids wouldn't have gotten beat up by that horrible gang!" Danielle sobbed.

I was about to agree that it _was_ her fault, but my mom shot me a look.

"Dan, you couldn't have possibly known those chavs would be there." My mum reassured her.

"Chavs?" Valencia asked.

"Gangsters." Mum replied in a faux American accent. I snorted at how similar we were.

Danielle gave a watery smile and wiped her eyes.

"Besides, Fang is a hero! He stood up to those guys. And trust me, the other chap looked pretty bad too." I tried to comfort her.

"Listen to my child! My child is wise!" My mum encouraged.

"By the way, mum, could you ask that lady if she could get me some ice?" I asked, gesturing to the attendant.

Mum nodded and went to go get me my ice.

I plopped down on her chair.

"Jess," Valencia asked, "is Max okay?"

As if on cue, Valencia, Danielle and I all turned around to look at Max. Her hands were tangled in her hair and she had a blank expression on her face. I couldn't exactly tell Max's mum my theory about Max realizing her feelings for Fang, so I said, "She's just in shock."

When mum came back with my ice, I went to go sit with Ella and Nudge, since my best friend in the world was ignoring me.

I had tried talking to him while we drove over here, but he looked embarrassed and didn't reply to anything I said. Fine by me. It's not like Gazzy is my rock and keeps me from being sad or anything.

That's another thing I hate about myself. I hate that I depend on others for my happiness.

"Hey, Nudge, Ella." I greeted.

"Hey." They both mumbled back.

"Do you want to go the restroom and freshen up a bit?" God knows I needed to.

"Sure." Ella smiled. Nudge stayed quiet, which was totally out of character, by the way.

When we reached the restroom, it was empty, which was great. I propped myself up on the counter. I was startled when Nudge wrapped her arms around me.

"Nudge? Are you okay?"

She responded by sobbing loudly. I smoothed down her hair and soon Ella joined in. If anyone walked in, they would see three, broken traumatized girls.

MPOV

"Can we see him now?" Fang's mom was asking the receptionist for the billionth time this hour. I zoned out, not wanting to hear the reply.

I was in love with Fang.

I was completely, unconditionally, crazy in love with Fang.

Why did it take me so long to realize it? Fang was always there. He's always been brave, funny, smart, sweet, and most of all, my best friend. It's too late now. Fang has a girlfriend and he'll never see me as a girl.

I mean, he knows I'm a girl, but I'll never be a girl he could be interested in. I'm not his type. I'm not petite and fragile like Brigid or his ex-girlfriend. I'm Maximum Ride. I'm tall and tough and I'm not someone Fang would be interested in that way.

_What do I do?_

I'm going to have to suppress my feelings for him, but I know that'll be hard. We're best friends; he'll see right through me.

And what was I going to tell him about the kiss? Would he even remember it? He passed out a few seconds later, so would he recall the feeling of my lips on his?

"Max, honey, we can go see him." My mom said, shaking my shoulder. Nudge, Ella and Jess had all run off somewhere, so it was only Gazzy, Iggy and I following the adults to Fang's room.

When we walked in, Fang was lying on the bed wide-awake. The blood had been cleaned up from his face and his hair was pushed up from his forehead. Normally, I would've snorted and made fun of him, but I didn't know how to act right now.

"Hey everyone." Fang greeted us croakily. Before I could stop myself, I ran over to the side of the bed and hugged him. He hugged me back and drew small circles between my shoulder blades.

"You idiot!" I cried, the tears falling freely. "I thought you were- I- I-"

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Max" Fang laughed. I pulled away from his embrace reluctantly.

Fang's mom began to fuss over him, crying and apologizing. I looked at Fang the whole time, wanting nothing more than to be in his arms again.

FPOV

"Mom, I'm okay, I promise!" I repeated for the forty-ninth time. She ignored my protests and continued to fuss about in my room. I could tell she wanted to scold me for my room being such a mess but was refraining from doing so.

It's been two days since the incident and I'm doing okay. I got off with a broken nose and a hairline fracture on my jaw. The downside is that chewing hurts, so I'm on a liquid diet. I was upset when I realized that I wouldn't be able to eat Bagel Bites, so Iggy offered to pre-chew them for me, but I declined.

"I'm sorry, Fang, I just-" She was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. "Oh. I'll go get that."

A few minutes later, Max walked into my room, holding two plastic cups in her hands. "Hello, Fangles."

"Greetings, Maximum." I replied. She handed me the cup and I began to drink it happily.

"Mmm. Cookies and cream milkshake. My favorite." I said appreciatively. "Thanks, Max."

"No problemo, Fango." Max replied, taking a sip from hers. "Your nose looks lovely, by the way."

My nose was slightly crooked, thanks to that bastard. "Gee, thanks Max." I said sarcastically.

"No, really, it does! You look like a badass. It's pretty ho-" She stopped talking and took a long sip from her milkshake.

"Pretty what?" I asked, amused. Which reminds me…

"Max, we have to talk." I said solemnly. Max's eyes were the size of quarters. She looked at the door, then out the window. She was looking at all the methods of exiting, the little punk.

"A-about what?" She asked, inching slightly towards the door.

"Max, you know what I'm talking about." I sighed. In truth, I don't know how I felt about my best friend kissing me.

Max sighed and walked over to my bed and sat down. Her back was to me, which kind of annoyed me.

"Okay. What about it?" She asked, her voice sounding weird.

"W-what did it mean?"

She turned around to face me and replied, "I was just worried, I guess. And overcome with emotion."

"Oh. So you were just worried?" I confirmed.

"Yep."

"Well, you should worry about me more often." I teased, knowing it would get her mad. Much to my surprise, she laughed and said, "I'll take note of that."

"Do you wanna watch TV with me?" I asked, turning on the television.

"Sure. What are we watching?" Max asked.

"Hm. I don't know. Are you in the mood for anime? Or do you want to watch real life people?" I asked again, flipping through the channels.

"I don't know. Let's watch some anime." Max shrugged.

"Okay, Black Butler?"

"Boring."

"Death Note?"

"We already finished it." 

"Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"Hm. I've never heard of that one. Let's watch it."

"You've never heard of Fullmetal Alchemist?" I asked in disbelief. She shrugged and I turned on the Netflix feature on my television. I looked up at Max and noticed she was looking at me with an expression I've never seen her wear.

Her eyes were softer and she was staring at me in a way I couldn't explain. I don't know what it was, but I didn't like it one bit.

**Fang you poophead D:**

**Katyajini: Thank you so much! Your review made me smile! :D**

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**Peanut-butter-mouse: I finished Ouran High School Host Club a few days ago! Hikaru and Kaoru are so funny! I can only tell them apart by the way their hair is parted, though. *****Tamaki voice***** HARUHIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**Liliputdemigod: Thanks for reading my story, and to answer your question, I do not watch Sword Art Online. I asked one of my friends if it was good, and she said no so I didn't bother watching it. But maybe I'll watch it soon :D And yes, I've read Divergent. All three books, actually :D**

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**Shiipitlikefedex: Yes! I love TFIOS! I cry every time I read it, which is unsual, since I've read it over ten times already and I should be prepared for the heartache. And, oh no. That must've been horrible to write :-( **

**Please tell me your thoughts on this chapter through a review! I love reading reviews during class! Also, why do you think Gazzy is ignoring Jess? And some Eggy action is quite overdue, wouldn't you say?**

**OH, and can you guys recommend some good fan fics? I like reading AUs with no wings :D**

**Review!**


	21. Chapter 21

MPOV

"Hey, guys?" I asked my siblings. We were all sprawled out on the floor of our music room.

"Yeah?" The three of them responded in unison. It was kind of creepy.

"Has mom been acting a little… I don't know…depressed?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I was imagining things, but these days, my mother was eating less and hardly coming out of her room. She owns the vet clinic, so everyone works under her. She wasn't gone to work in two weeks and she just seems so empty.

"I thought I was the only one who noticed!" Nudge gasped, suddenly sitting up. Her hair bounced up and she patted it down.

"You know what I think?" Ella said thoughtfully.

"Yeah?"

"I think she misses Jeb. I mean, he didn't come to visit last month, and it doesn't look like he's coming this month." Ella replied. By this point, we were all sitting up and looking at each other with wonder.

"Well, if she misses him to the point that she can't function properly, then I think we should move to California." Gazzy said. I couldn't help but to feel a bit annoyed at him.

"Well, he should get a job that doesn't require him living in a different state." I retorted.

Nudge and Ella nodded in agreement and I gave Gazzy a pointed look. He rolled his eyes at me and stuck out his tongue.

"I'm hungry." I complained. It was four in the afternoon and we started off our weekend by forcing mom to come downstairs and eat a bowl of cereal. I couldn't get the dejected look she wore out of my head.

"What a coincidence! Iggy just texted me saying for us to come over. They ordered six boxes of pizza by mistake and need help eating it all." Ella said happily. Nudge squealed and demanded to see the message from Iggy while I rolled my eyes.

"Six boxes? How the heck can they order six boxes by mistake?" Gazzy wondered.

"I know. And six boxes isn't enough to satisfy our abnormal appetites." I sighed dramatically. Gazzy rolled his eyes and walked out of the room to go get ready.

"What's been up his butt recently?" I asked Nudge and Ella. They looked at me with expressions of pained patience.

"He and Jess aren't talking." Ella replied like it should be obvious. I suddenly thought about how they didn't sit next to each other during lunch or how Jess refused an invitation to come over the other day.

"Why though? They never fight."

"Because! Didn't you hear him that day? He c-"

"Are you guys gonna get ready or am I going to eat all the pizza on my own?" Gazzy called from his room. I gave Nudge and Ella a 'we are _so _talking about this later' look and went to my room to get ready.

What should I wear? What if Fang is there? Should I dress nice?

I groaned and felt like slamming my head against the door. This being in love with my best friend is harder than I thought.

I decided on wearing my usual jeans and converse, along with a Pink Floyd t-shirt and a flannel. I left my hair down since it didn't look too bad.

I grabbed my phone and ran downstairs to wait for everyone else. Should I text Fang? What if he thinks I'm annoying? If he wanted to talk to me, he would text me first, so I probably shouldn't.

I began to think how good he looked yesterday. When he came into class that morning, I nearly fell out of my desk. He was wearing a leather jacket and combat boots. He looked like he should be driving a motorcycle, not sitting in a stuffy classroom.

"Hello! Earth to Maximum!"

I blinked and swatted Gazzy's hands away from my face. "What?"

"You're drooling." Gazzy snorted. I rolled my eyes and inconspicuously wiped my chin. Ew.

About ten minutes later, Nudge and Ella finally came downstairs. Ella said she had told mom where we were going and she had okay'd it.

Now, off to see Fang! And eat pizza!

"Where did you say he was again?" I asked Iggy while eating my fifth slice of pizza. Apparently I was worrying on my appearance for no reason because Fang wasn't home. I was disappointed but quickly rejoiced when I saw the boxes of pizza waiting on the counter.

"He's with Brigid." Iggy replied. He looked at me curiously but didn't say anything and went back to talking to Ella.

"I don't understand what he sees in her." Nudge groaned. Nudge has a grudge against Brigid since she pushed her in the hallway once and didn't apologize. Nudge was usually easy going and friendly, but I guess she _really_ didn't like Brigid.

That makes two of us.

"I guess he just likes her because he thinks she's pretty." Iggy shrugged. I wanted to smack him. Fang isn't that type of guy. He must genuinely like Brigid for some reason.

"Fang isn't that type of guy." I chimed. Angel, who was drinking a can of soda from a straw, nodded.

"Fang likes Brigid. But he doesn't love her." She said and took a bite from her pizza.

"Oh? And how do you know that?" Iggy asked her.

"I read his mind." Angel said with a playful smile. We all laughed and smiled. Angel was too cute.

Suddenly a car door shut outside and the front door opened. Fang was home!

I tried not to look too eager and continued to eat. When he walked in, he sat next to me and I told myself not to look at him.

"Hey Max." He murmured, his voice sounding low and raspy.

I looked.

He was wearing that stupid leather jacket again and it made me want to just grab him and kiss him. Realization dawned over me and I concluded that this wasn't me. Maximum Ride did not let boys dictate her life or emotions!

"What's up, Fangles?" I said casually. He shot me an amused grin and I tried not to fall off the stool I was sitting on.

"Nothing, really. I took Brigid to the aquarium. It was fun. No date with Sam tonight?" He asked, watching me. Here's a thing about Fang. Whenever he talks to someone, he looks into their eyes. And when someone was talking to him, he stared at that person's lips. I inconspicuously moistened my chapped lips and hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Uh, no." I replied. Ever since the day I realized my feelings for Fang weren't solely platonic, I felt like being with Sam was like a punishment. I was dating the opposite of what I wanted and it was like a slap in the face.

Why couldn't I have realized this sooner? I have to watch Fang be happy with Brigid and it drives me insane and insecure. What does she have that I don't? I know I'm not exactly the prettiest girl out there, but I think Brigid and I are on the same level of attractiveness.

"Max?" Nudge asked, breaking me out of my self-loathing.

"Yeah?"

"Can we go home? We have a soccer game today and we have to pick Jess up." Nudge asked. She gave Ella a sideways glance, but Ella was too busy to notice since she was flirting with Iggy.

"We can all go!" Iggy said cheerfully. Ella grinned and looked at me for approval.

"Sure." I shrugged.

And that's how we all ended up going to the soccer game.

"You know, you look like the type of girl who would play soccer." Fang said, giving me a sideways glance. We were sitting down on the grass under a small tent that the moms always set up. Mom halfheartedly helped and her friends failed to notice what was wrong.

"Nah. I prefer to watch it. Chasing a ball seems pretty pointless to me." I replied.

Fang gave me a look of exaggerated offense and glared at me. "How dare you! Soccer is my life!"

Gazzy and Iggy plopped down next to us and picked up on our conversation.

"Actually, Fang," Gazzy began. He gave Iggy a sideways glance and they snickered.

"Ball is life." They said in unison.

I was glad Gaz was acting more like himself. He was grinning and laughing until he looked up and a shadow crossed his face.

"Hey guys!" Jess called. She was lightly jogging across the field in her uniform with another guy at her side. _Dylan?_

When they reached us, we were all staring at her with alarmed expressions.

"Look who I found! He's a trainer!" Jess said, waggling her eyebrows at me. As one of my best friends, annoying me was in the job description and I gotta say, she was doing a good job at it.

Dylan stood there looking very uncomfortable. Despite how much he annoyed me, I couldn't deny that he was very attractive. His turquoise eyes held innocence as he gave us a friendly smile.

"Oh? And since when do you train for this team? Since you found out Jess was on it?" Gazzy said angrily. A look of confusion crossed Dylan's face but he just looked down and didn't say anything.

Jess shot him a dark look but Gazzy didn't return it. He looked at her longingly but she looked away pointedly.

"Hey, Fang! I haven't seen you in a while? You ready for rehearsal on Monday?" Jess chirped.

Due to Fang's fractured jaw, he got two weeks off from anything that might hurt is jaw, and acting fell under that rule. Jess was extremely annoyed since the play was a month away but that meant we could focus on my scenes more.

"Sure. I forgot most of my lines, though." Fang said solemnly.

Jess's eyes widened and she looked like she was going to explode. "You-"

"Kidding! Totally kidding!" Fang said holding his hands up in surrender.

Dylan chuckled. "You're going to give her grey hairs, man."

Gazzy looked like he was about to punch Dylan, but the coach called Jess.

"Well, that's my cue. See ya in a few." Jess waggled her fingers and it looked kinda funny with her goalie gloves. She and Dylan jogged back, joining the team huddle.

"Okay, that was really-" I began.

"Awkward." Fang finished. We shared a look and glanced at Gazzy, who was looking down at the grass, ripping it out.

"Hey, Fang, wanna go get some snacks?" I said suddenly. I wanted to be alone with him so badly. I knew nothing would happen but just the idea of being with him brought butterflies to my stomach.

"Sure. It's not like we just ate like 80 slices of pizza or anything." Fang said, getting up. He held out his hand to pick me up and I gladly took it. His hand was big and warm and felt like it was made to hold mine. I didn't want to let go. Ever.

It was funny how he's held my hand countless of times, but this time it actually meant something to me. This was the first time he held my hand since I realized how in love I was with him and it was the first time I've felt whole since then.

He brought me to my feet and I held his hand five more seconds than necessary before letting go.

"Okay, so, snacks." Fang said quickly and walked toward the concessions stand. I caught up to him and tugged on his sleeve. I looked up at him and I had to squint a little because the sun was in my face.

FPOV

Okay, something's up. Just when I thought I was over her, holding her hand makes me feel like I'm in a Dove chocolate commercial running through a field of daises. I felt like I was holding the missing piece to something important, but I didn't dare to hold on any longer and find out what it was.

_You have a girlfriend. A girlfriend who you love very much. A girlfriend who might be the one, _I thought to myself.

"Okay, so, snacks." I said gruffly when Max pulled away.

_Plus, Max has a boyfriend, too._

I felt Max tug at my sleeve and I looked down at her.

The sun was shining on her face. Her freckles stood out and her brown eyes looked like melted chocolate. Her pink lips were parted and her hair was shining.

A crazy thought crossed my mind.

I wanted to kiss her.

**Hello everyone! I hope you don't think I went AWOL on you guys again. It's just that school has been pretty hectic, which confuses and angers me because I thought we were supposed to slack off at the end of the year. I had the general idea for this chapter, so typing it was no problem **^_^! **Also, for my fellow anime freaks, I went to a sleepover on Thursday and we watched SAO! I had already watched it last week, but I can now officially say its my second favorite anime, the first being Death Note. I even bought a t-shirt at Hot Topic. **

**Please tell me what you think and review! We're super close to 200 reviews and if that isn't exciting than I don't know what is!  
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**Oh , and to that person who was asking where Brigid was the last chapter, lol did you want her there? I was thinking about adding her in, but I wanted the chapter to be a little Faxy.**

**Fly on and review :D**


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